gwil james thomas – 2 poems

Blasting an Uzi and MF Doom. 

The idea of the video game 
was similar to real life – 
make as much money as possible 
against all the other players, 
so that you could buy cool shit.
 
I sped down the digital freeway 
blasting an uzi and MF Doom, 
before being rammed by a cop car – 
as my car flipped down into a swamp. 
 
I lost the cops, but also the car 
and was charged for its destruction – 
I was then informed that 
my businesses were under attack 
and wading through pixelated mud – 
my friend soon suggested 
that I go to the options screen 
and blow my brains out –
for a few hundred dollars.  
 
I handed him back the controller,
realising that I wasn’t any better 
with money in the digital world, 
than I was in the real one. 



Short Fuses/Big Bangs. 

We were the phallic ice sculpture of Priapus left out in the early Greek morning sun. A mayfly born to live a day, as we departed thinking fuck what a day that was. The shivering man beneath the bridge, that disappeared before anybody bothered to notice. A meteor burning as it entered the planet’s atmosphere. Commencing at dusk and parting ways at dawn. Sharing our beds, drinks and stories. Brief friendships, as a metaphor for life. Always going from nought to a hundred. All moving back to our quotidian slices of the world before we’d even known it. Nevertheless, you were still the right person at the right time. I loved you, even if I didn’t quite know you. Our expiry date was brief. Your legacy carried on, regardless.




GWIL JAMES THOMAS is a poet, novelist and inept musician. He lives in his home town of Bristol, England but has also lived in London, Brighton and Spain. His poetry was recently featured in Seppuku 5 (Laughing Ronin Press) and The Songs From The Underground anthology (East London Press) alongside the likes of Charles Bukowski, John King, Valerie Solanas, Richard Brautigan and Li-Po. Instagram: @gwiljamesthomas 



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