Poetry Magazines - The best collection of poetry magazines online - Simon Armitage

Humans drink and eat on café patios, 
             approximate telepathy on telephones, 
             whistle Bach — a remote-controlled toy 
             dumptruck revs along the sidewalk 
             past a book shop, a jam-and-honey shop, 
             a radio station, delivering a parcel to the clinic.

In a parked American sedan, an American citizen 
             swallows lithium with mango juice — 
             she thumbs a switch on a remote.

Lithium in pure form is a soft, 
             white-silver metal, oxidizing 
             rapidly in air or water, the lightest 
             non-gaseous element, heat of fusion, 
             3 kJ/mol.

As the clinic explodes, she’s trying to 
             remember a man’s long name — who 
             spearheaded the Manhattan Project?

Rings around the stem 
             of a mushroom cloud 
             are intermediately wide 
             between the rings 
             of gods and married men.

The model shows “islands” and/or 
             “peninsulas” of populations 
             inside “seas” of other populations 
             are the likely areas for violence.

Once every generation on Earth: Sun, Earth, 
             Jupiter, Saturn in syzygy.

Protecting further violence studies against accusations 
             of demonizing certain populations, 
             the “islands” model also can be used 
             to assay the mindless and objective 
             contents of a test tube, for example, 
             oil (a little) and water (ample).