He lacked the way
Pre-emptive grave
Found use for things
That we could never say
He harboured grief
Had neither branch nor leaf
Was eaten up by animals
And there he found relief
He stuttered hard
Collapsed into your car
Partly in the footwell
Partly out the door, ajar
He then stayed silent
Reputed to be violent
Scraped, ignored and so on
Face resting on the pavement

Car keys
Passenger seat
Dead man circling
Handbrake
Indicate
Dead man circling

He represented haste
And misused waste
And all the other fleeting things
That people failed to taste
He was always vaguely flailing
And very quietly railing
Against the things that are left behind
By us, the never failing
He comes up short
Always lacking retort
Then slumps again into the stance
That we would never court
He’s found always sideways
And sinking beneath most days
A mess of rags and fallen flags
Well beneath your gaze

Safety lock
Check the clock
Dead man circling
Seat belt
Tremor felt
Dead man circling
 
He has a shave
And crawls out from his grave
And sits up straight in the driver’s seat
So easily saved
You turn your back
And do not once look back
And soon enough just two small steps
Will put you on track
You lift a leg
To kick him back to bed
Then hesitate and move away
He is already dead
He slips into your skin
And flexes within
And very soon in unity
You both continue in

Intuition
Ignition
Dead man circling
Shiver
Mirror
Dead man circling
Seat position
Penetration
Dead man circling
Emergency stop
Dead drop
Dead man circling