A cult status

Sometimes ideas arrive in the form of a dream.
Whatever happened to the log lady? Meanwhile,
the production of fish-food sticks is on the way.
Is this simply a thought experiment? This one
is large and orange and juicy and it's like a giant
everlasting gobstopper. 'I'm just going to flick a
float out', he said. Available in black, purple or
chic brown, these beauties can be embossed or
engraved. Yes but is this a dream or a nightmare?
Punishment may include dismissal or formal reprimand.

Perhaps you prefer the vintage-looking floral
design with a mint green background? We may
also need an independent body to separate fact
from fiction. Yes but what about the dodgy dossier?
'You can always try the magic bones', she said.
What kind of thing could have done that? Yet our
records show that the above property has become
unoccupied. Today we're using high-visibility pop-
ups. What are the basic properties of photons?
At the end of the day a cage is just a cage.




Another good cause

Is your gasp authentic or manufactured?
Yet the owls are not what they seem even
though you may be watching your weight
like a hawk. Some bricks are more important
than others - cornerstones, for example.
'Conditions here can change very fast', she
said, 'but there are more things to life than
breaking and entering'. Temperature is just
a measure of how fast things are moving around.
Disrespect the ice and you may go through.

Photons are all around us. Our ultimate
master of disguise is the octopus yet the
situation close to the coast is different.
Where do the colours in soap bubbles
come from? Tell us something about the
banana skin, starting now! Where the reefs
meet deeper waters, upturning currents bring
nutrients. This cloud turns data into excitement
but the corals close to shore are barely
hanging on. Our whale shark is a gentle giant.




A highly specific problem

Are we facing a tumbleweed takeover?
There should have been snow on the ground
but many people don't even realise there is
an expiry date and fail to check the details.
Did you know that catfish have no scales?
These unassuming green shrubs look perfectly
innocent now but it's what it's doing when it's
rolling that's the problem. Where on earth did all
these rabbits come from? Life returns to normal
but the extent of the death toll remains a mystery.

May we introduce ourselves and explain our aims?
Have you ever thought about dropping the definite
article? Yet stopping this relentless green invader
is proving something of a challenge and a builder
doesn't have to be as tall as a tower. 'It's important
to map these undulations', she said. Yes, and did you
know that the horseshoe crab has blue blood? At this
time of year the sun never sets so the best thing to do
is to try and make things as dark as possible. If its beak
can squeeze through, the rest of the body will follow.




'Each to his own', she said

Conditions remain tough although our
lego device looks like a traditional set
of scales and our closest relatives have
a limited repertoire of sounds. Even though
the river is long and wide there are many
dangers below. 'It's a pike backwards', she said.
What makes you think I am going to end up
like this? Yet the past and present intersect
and overplay with each other and we passed
that exit ages ago. 'Sploosh', she said, 'sploosh'.

What started off as 'rough 'n' tumble' has
clearly got out of hand. Here we have some
open water yet bleak feed mainly in the surface
layers and our original mission statement is now
inappropriate. How does contagious yawning
fit into the picture? Outside of the laboratory
only time will tell. Is this joined-up thinking or
are you trying to accommodate our writing style?
Here we have a lobster with a split personality.
Our research mainly happens behind closed doors.




A series of photographs

Once again, nothing is what it seems.
Purists may be uneasy about these
developments yet your scruples seem
very provincial and our results are
always unusual. Clearly not every
clamouring crowd is violent but leaving
everything to nature is risky and it's
the only document we have to back-up
our claim. 'I'm not a fan of bait-boats
but they can be really effective', he said.

Taste is paramount. 'Yes, but can you
detect nutmeg and mace', she asked.
Once again, we have the theme of a rebel
who never surrenders. Is this a random
pattern or an interference pattern? Yet the
files that do exist leave a trail of evidence.
Are we going in armed? In six weeks or
so we will all face freezing temperatures
and these leafy invaders are hard to control.
If you were a barbel where would you live?


© Steve Spence 2015