Saxby Pridmore: Two Poems

A Taoist on Montserrat

The Massif of Montserrat—Eocene

erosions and sediments form the

conglomerate of Central Catalonia

a “pudding stone” mountain range

pushed up through crust fractures

and riddled with rain made caves.

The ironstone Elephant’s Trunk and

Dead Man’s Head have crannies for

Pyrenean violets and honeysuckle.

Channels of blackthorn, starflowers and

holm-oak shade rosemary and thyme.

The ibex scales and Bellini’s eagle soars.

A Taoist took the cable-car to the

Basilica and climbed the narrow pilgrim

thronged staircase to a throne room

where the glassed-in Madonna and the

boy on her lap were both black.

He didn’t get there was a problem.

The Center Pompidou

looks like Disneyland dropped an oil

refinery in the middle of Paris.

It has coloured tubes and passages all over

the outside (you can’t see out the windows).

Blue for air-conditioning, yellow for electricity

green for water and red for people.

It houses the Bibliothèque publique d’information, but

they refuse to host wood chopping championships.

It has the Institute de Recherche et Co-ordination Acoustic/

Musique, but they say non to roof-top clay pigeon shoots.

It has the Musée National d’Art Moderne, but

won’t permit sheep-dog trials on the pizzeria outside.

The Center Pompidou is a partial success; showing

colour coding works, but at the cost of multi-functioning.

Saxby Pridmore