New Release: John D. Robinson A Hash Smoking, Codeine Swallowing, Wine Drinking, Son of a Bitch (Alien Buddha Press, 2019) 105 pages

This is prolific UK writer John D. Robinson’s latest book, his second through Alien Buddha Press. There are 28 narrative poems in the collection. The poems cascade down the page in one stanza- usually in one sentence, with a sprinkling of semi-colons along the way. 

The poems are typically about and from the perspective of marginalised people who are living on the edge of a cliff- drug addicts, sex-slaves, the homeless, the mentally deranged, religious converts and the like. Robinson writes about their lives and his own in a wry, humorous and highly entertaining way. The language is always clear and authentic.

Some of the best poems include "There's Always More" a portrait poem about Julian in which Robinson telescopes his remarkable life in a couple of sentences, "A Curious Nasal Profile" about the two different stories the poet tells sometimes to random strangers who ask him about how he got "that nose", "Ned And The Kitty Cat Scratch" about Robinson's relationship with Ned who he met at a compulsory governmental work placement and "Hide And Seek" which previously appeared in Robinson's first published book When You Hear the Bell There's Nowhere to Hide (Holy & Intoxicated Publications, 2016). 

If you are unfamiliar with Robinson's work the poem should make your head spin:

Hide And Seek

Plain but pretty and several

years younger than I, it was

never going to be anything

more than a fleeting

experience; we had met,

drunk, in a seedy night-

club, danced and drank

and embraced and kissed

and returned to her studio

flat and talked all

through the night and

met again the following

evening, took a few

drinks and again returned

to her studio flat, only this

time there wasn't a great

deal of talking;

we quickly began to

undress one another and

as I slipped off her bra

my eyes were transfixed

upon her nipples;

"Anything wrong?" she

asked playfully, smiling.

"Oh no, beautifully" I 

replied having never seen

inverted nipples before,

and I moved in to kiss

and caress her breasts;

I was no Valentino or

casanova but nipples had

never been a problem so

far and I licked and sucked

and loved with a great deal

of effort and passion

but the nipples

remained hidden and I

felt at a loss;

"It's only when I come

that makes my nipples pop out"

she told me, laughing, as she gently

pushed my face away from

her breasts;

"Oh" I said not knowing

what else to say.

"You better try elsewhere"

she said;

I did as she suggested

and a few minutes later

these beautiful little

nipples suddenly popped

free as she gave a final

cry of pleasure and then all

too quickly the nipples

disappeared, shrunk back

down into their fleshy

burrows;

'now you see me

now you don't,'

and I wanted to see the

nipples again but she

wanted to drink wine and

smoke some grass and

listen to some music

and that's what happened

and perhaps just a few days

later she left me

stranded in a 3am dark and

strange countryside following

some outrageous and erratic

and wild drunken behaviour

within the vehicle that was

moving at speed through

dark dangerous narrow lanes;

she stopped

the car and ordered me out;

I did so and she sped off

and I was expecting her to

turn around after a few

minutes but she didn't,

I saw the red tail-lights

fade into blackness and

vanish and I never saw

her again;

'now you see me

now you don't.'

(posted with the poet's permission)

Buy the book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1073081400?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860