five poems
by Mark Young
Grand Prix
My internet pro-
vider asks me
if I want to relive
all the highlights
of the 2024 V8
season. The
short answer is
no. The long answer
is that I never
lived them in
the first place. Nor
do I want to, live
or re-live, not even
at the end of
an evening where
I have gone round
& round the same
circuit without re-
sult. Boredom is not
for me whether it
be accompanied by
the smell of rubber
or the smell of
greasepaint or the
roar of the crowd.
A line from Enrico Caruso (2)
Caught in the crossfire of a punk,
rock, & metal extravaganza, illegal
or informal resource extraction
operations are common. In an emo-
tional monologue on TikTok, the
man the author had in mind was
quoted as having said: "Everyone
abides by the universal truth that
there is a tenuous line between
love & possession. But when
Black Swan events occur, such
events have consequences, especi-
ally since they shouldn't happen.
For some the discomfort may be
minimal, but others may find them-
selves in a place few of them love."
Chicken Noodle Soup
It doesn’t suddenly
fall into place. That’s
too much to ask
for. Rather, small pieces, frag-
ments of a template, shaken
loose by the coughing fits
that wake you every
hour, though not necessarily
on the hour. Sort of like
the leftovers from
a bad acid trip, & you the
man in the park, with
the pointed stick, going round
gathering them up, taking them
back to your garden shed
where last year’s calendar
garnishes the wall. Hoping
to make some sense
of them, never knowing
if you’ve got them all.
Wandering
Proved true for
a / particular
value. If. Then.
Likewise holds for
others in the
sequence. Is
mathematical in-
duction. Is primary.
Not just for numbers
but anything that’s
linked. Stones &
bones. Things in the
earth, or growing in
or going on it. One
truth discovered,
the rest will follow.
Sometimes in
the pith of
sugar cane you
might find ivory,
a wizard’s mojo.
Niche Notes
(a Tom Beckett Title)
I'm online in Dubai, looking for a
niche-quality fragrance that's right
for special occasions. Not exactly
formal, but giving off a luxurious
impression through its fruity top
notes of, say, violet leaf, peach, or
ylang ylang. But as I dig deeper, I
start to feel as if I'm in the wrong
place. Seems like niche apparently
does not necessarily mean attract-
ive to the olfactory organs. I read:
the best niche fragrances for beginners
are art forms.1 I read: Still life with
grape soda, rotting fruits, & oysters.2
I read: notorious for being "the
most disgusting scent in the world."2
BIO: Mark Young was born in Aotearoa / New Zealand but now lives in a small town in North Queensland in Australia. He has been publishing poetry for over sixty-five years, & is the author of around seventy-five books, primarily text poetry but also including speculative fiction, vispo, non-fiction, & art history. His most recent books are the downloadable pdf, Closed Environment, from Neo-Mimeo Editions, Nualláin House, Monte Rio, California, & The Complete Post Person Poems, from Sandy Press, Santa Barbara, California, both published in March, 2025.