Everyday Eclipses

The hamburger flipped across the face of the bun
The frisbee winning the race against its own shadow
The cricket ball dropping for six in front of the church clock
On a golden plate, a host of communion wafers
The brown contact lens sliding across the blue iris
The palming of small change
Everyday eclipses.

Whether shamelessly offering advice to Bob Dylan (as well as Paul McCartney and Jimi Hendrix) in a series of imaginary rock meetings, or dicing with death in the Alps, Roger McGough's new poems are as vigorous, as funny and as eye-opening as his very best. On the lightning of chance and the threat of violence, killer ducks and alien moths, he brings his unique linguistic pyrotechnics to bear. It is, though, the exuberance and range of his imagination that marks McGough out, as he continues to uncover the universal in the everyday.