Source: Unsplash, downloaded https://unsplash.com/photos/n-MJGM3rzDg (7.2.2021.)
Charlie Baylis's poems are inward concentrated, dense and complex. It is as if the poet is speaking exclusively to himself and the subject from the past that is ever present in his thoughts and torments his mind, keeping him in a limbo of sorts. An unnamed place filled with unanswered questions and possibilities that will never come to be.
Editor-in-Chief, Ana Savković
exit plan
the unborn poem blurred by the narrator’s nerves
white leather satchel more tasteful than my own
an itch of friction filters into my day lemon leaves or green tea
mingle with boiling water & honey my heartbeat accelerates
a series of unwise investments in niche nordic banks
sold to me by inside knowledge from a “most reliable” source
a chain of black dominoes on the verge of collapse
the moment my money evaporates into thin air
& i have nothing to pay for these chocolate buttons
so rich as to leave me breathless an orgasm delayed till crescendo
pints of milk poured over clouds volcanoes erupting with pearls
where the intimate o’s and x’s of my text messages to my ex
are read to me by my next i open the white leather satchel
find an unblemished page trace my fingers over its blankness
words appear while i read the title is exit plan
bar mixx, tokyo
my toe taps under the table her toe i
look up from her magazine
the splendour of what is left on my wrist
polished marble adornments
her toe taps under the table my toe i
dine on the table x my slender wrist
wracked up to be forgotten
walking up the walls of hotel blues
& later when i hold her in my arms
i do not think of her, i think of u
gift
elizabeth taylor rides softly over a dew-dappled moon
on the ghost of karl marx in a poem by sam riviere
the trees are becoming weary of the presence of sam riviere
in the months since we parted we never really parted
the fear i feel when your eyes glow violet
tap tap tap on the velvet moss lining my throat
the first clear chord of the most delicate symphony
the man beautiful as light
impounds her round nouns.
i gift a poem i declare my love for you
without declaring my love for you
About the Author: Charlie Baylis is from Nottingham, England. He is the Editor of Anthropocene. His poetry has been nominated twice for the Pushcart Prize and once for the Forward Prize. His most recent publication is Swimming (the Red Ceiling Press). He spends his spare time completely adrift of reality.
Charlie is the Poetry Editor of Review 31 and the Chief Editorial Advisor of Broken Sleep Books.
Translation from English to Croatian by Ana Savković:
izlazna strategija
nerođena pjesma zamagljena pripovjedačevim živcima
bijela kožna torba ukusnija od moje
svrbež trenja filtrira se u moj dan lišće limuna ili zeleni čaj
miješaju se s kipućom vodom i medom otkucaji mog srca se ubrzavaju
niz nerazumnih ulaganja u nordijske nišne banke
prodao mi ih je "najpouzdaniji izvor" s insajderskim znanjem
lanac crnih domina na rubu propasti
trenutak kad moj novac ispari u zrak
& nemam čime platiti ove čokoladne gumbe
toliko bogat da me ostavlja bez daha orgazam odgođen do krešenda
litre mlijeka prelivene preko oblaka vulkani izbacuju bisere
gdje mi intimne o-ove i x-ove iz mojih sms-ova bivšoj
čita moja sljedeća otvaram bijelu kožnu torbu
pronalazim neukaljanu stranicu pratim prste preko njezine praznine
riječi se pojavljuju dok čitam naslov je izlazna strategija
bar mixx, tokio
moj nožni prst tapka njezin nožni prst ispod stola i
podiže pogled s njezinog časopisa
raskoš onoga što mi je ostalo na zapešću
ukrasi od uglačanog mramora
njezin nožni prst tapka moj nožni prst ispod stola i
večeraj na stolu x moje vitko zapešće
uništeno da se zaboravi
hodam po zidovima hotela blues
& kasnije kad je držim u naručju
ne mislim na nju, mislim na tebe
dar
elizabeth taylor vozi se polako preko mjeseca zasutog rosom
o duhu karla marxa u pjesmi sama riviere
stabla postaju umorna od prisutnosti sama riviere
mjesecima otkako smo se rastali nikada se zapravo nismo rastali
strah koji osjećam kad ti oči zasjaju ljubičasto
tapkaj tapkaj tapkaj po baršunastoj mahovini koja mi oblaže grlo
prvi jasni akord najdelikatnije simfonije
čovjek lijep kao svjetlost
zapljenjuje njene okrugle imenice.
poklanjam ti pjesmu izjavljujem ti ljubav
a da ti nisam izjavio ljubav
O autoru: Charlie Baylis je iz Nottinghama u Engleskoj. Urednik je online časopisa Anthropocene. Njegova je poezija dva puta nominirana za Pushcart Prize i jednom za Forward Prize. Njegova najnovija publikacija je Swimming (the Red Ceiling Press). Svoje slobodno vrijeme provodi potpuno odvojen od stvarnosti.
Charlie je urednik poezije u časopisu Review 31 i glavni urednički savjetnik u Broken Sleep Books.
