Mark Pirie


Watchwords

I find 
Roger McGough
again
or
maybe
Roger McGough
finds me.

	it’s a book fair (not a gig)
	he’s hardly looking 
	to meet me
	but on the back cover
	he seems approachable.

I pick him up, carry him home
like it’s after a rock gig.
hey, it’s a poem, he ain’t heavy.
he might laugh in person.

                    “watchwords” he first said
                              to me as a young poet reading,
                                        and I’m still watching them
                                                  making this poem.



Neruda

Neruda
in the ’40s
pursued
      by
Police
thought
   of
      the People.
	
           They created him, inspired
	his poetry, and rage, his love.

Imprisoned in his mind, his words were
fighting for Punishment
of those unjust.

		(The social cost
		was not economics
		but pure poetry
		to him.)

He left the bourgeoisie and Fascists
for the common good
and paid the price:
	his real wealth
		a life of poetry.
        
        
        
2150AD

I’m
Operations 
Manager,
Linguistics,
for 
the
Department
of 
Conversation.

We
work
to save
all poets
and words
from
extinction.
        

Mark Pirie (b.1974) is an internationally published New Zealand poet, editor, publisher and archivist for PANZA (Poetry Archive of NZ Aotearoa). In 2016, his selected poems, Rock & Roll, was published by Bareknuckle Books, Australia. Other books include a biography, Tom Lawn, Mystery Forward (ESAW, 2018), an artbook Folk Punk (2020) and Gallery (poetry) published by Salt, England, 2003. He is a former founder/editor of JAAM, 1995-2005, publisher for HeadworX 1998-, and currently edits broadsheet: new new zealand poetry, 2008-. Website: www.markpirie.com.
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