News at Eleven: In a third, "Upon Unloading the Dishwasher",

a woman preserves her personal space by talking to forestall her lover's kiss: "Every word that Katy had uttered was complete poppycock." The ability to write with such rigorous playfulness is marvellous. And, as [Simon] Armitage demonstrates, absurdity and pain often shack up together.

Poodles

from The Guardian: Seeing Stars by Simon Armitage

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