Gordon Meade – Mata Mata

Profile Gordon Meade LE Poetry & Writing August 2018

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Mata Mata, poems by Gordon Meade

Gordon Meade is a Scottish poet based in the East Neuk of Fife. He divides his time between his own writing and developing creative writing courses for vulnerable people in a variety of settings. In the past he has been the writer in residence at the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, a Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow at the University of Dundee and, at present is working as a Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow on the Bridge Project in Scottish schools. His ninth collection of poems, The Year of the Crab, was published in 2017 by Cultured Llama Publishing. At the moment he is working on a series of poems entitled, Zoospeak, which take as their initial inspiration the photographic work of Jo-Anne MaCArthur.


Burmese Python, Canada, 2008

This is a fantastic set up and I am
so very proud to be a part of it. In fact, I am
the only living thing in this scenario

This is a fantastic set up and I am
so very proud to be a part of it. In fact, I am
the only living thing in this scenario
that the camera has managed to capture.

This is a fantastic set up and I am
so very proud to be a part of it. In fact, I am
the only living thing in this scenario
that the camera has managed to capture.
I may look still but I am still alive. I am a circle.

This is a fantastic set up and I am
so very proud to be a part of it. In fact, I am
the only living thing in this scenario
that the camera has managed to capture.
I may look still but I am still alive. I am a circle
of flesh and blood set against a backdrop of straw.

This is a fantastic set up and I am
so very proud to be a part of it. In fact, I am
the only living thing in this scenario
that the camera has managed to capture.
I may look still but I am still alive. I am a circle
of flesh and blood set against a backdrop of straw.
You cannot see it, but I am still breathing.

This is a fantastic set up and I am
so very proud to be a part of it. In fact, I am
the only living thing in this scenario
that the camera has managed to capture.
I may look still but I am still alive. I am a circle
of flesh and blood set against a backdrop of straw.
You cannot see it, but I am still breathing.
You cannot hear it, but the straw is rustling.

This is a fantastic set up and I am
so very proud to be a part of it. In fact, I am
the only living thing in this scenario
that the camera has managed to capture.
I may look still but I am still alive. I am a circle
of flesh and blood set against a backdrop of straw.
You cannot see it, but I am still breathing.
You cannot hear it, but the straw is rustling
underneath the weight of my coils.


Snow Leopard, Lithuania, 2016

No snow, hardly
any leopard left,
and very little idea.

No snow, hardly
any leopard left,
and very little idea
as to where I might be.

No snow, hardly
any leopard left,
and very little idea
as to where I might be;
lots of metal and wood.

No snow, hardly
any leopard left,
and very little idea
as to where I might be;
lots of metal and wood
but not much else.

No snow, hardly
any leopard left,
and very little idea
as to where I might be;
lots of metal and wood
but not much else;
a pair of eyes staring.

No snow, hardly
any leopard left,
and very little idea
as to where I might be;
lots of metal and wood
but not much else;
a pair of eyes staring
at you through iron bars.

No snow, hardly
any leopard left,
and very little idea
as to where I might be;
lots of metal and wood
but not much else;
a pair of eyes staring
at you through iron bars;
reflecting nothing.


Mata Mata Turtle, Thailand, 2008

I am trying to hide
at the bottom of a pool of water
but the water is clear.

I am trying to hide
at the bottom of a pool of water
but the water is clear
so that the people can see.

I am trying to hide
at the bottom of a pool of water
but the water is clear
so that the people can see
both myself and the money.

I am trying to hide
at the bottom of a pool of water
but the water is clear
so that the people can see
both myself and the money
they are throwing into it.

I am trying to hide
at the bottom of a pool of water
but the water is clear
so that the people can see
both myself and the money
they are throwing into it
in order to make wishes.

I am trying to hide
at the bottom of a pool of water
but the water is clear
so that the people can see
both myself and the money
they are throwing into it
in order to make wishes.
Once they are made they leave.

I am trying to hide
at the bottom of a pool of water
but the water is clear
so that the people can see
both myself and the money
they are throwing into it
in order to make wishes.
Once they are made they leave,
with none of them for me.


© Gordon Meade