The House



The House.


quite regularly, i get requests for copies of  performance 

pieces, samplers, gig recordings, pictures, posters 

and so forth.


the house was written way back when i lived in london 

as a response to many bad things happening at the time 

in bermondsey.


i'd strung together a series of ideas surrounding the 

changes being forced upon the community that had kept 

the area alive. 

money was moving in. 

real people were being shunted out. 


the shout was loud but few listened. 

but the people who listened were the people who mattered. 

to me.


the area now? closed doors. new history.


the house changes often, like it should. 

but today i still see the same thing happening over and over.

after a recent performance i received a request once again, 

for the house.



the house

by

steve coel


row after row after row

all completely empty.


once real people lived in them.

not now.

not anymore.


they're not nice houses.

the rooms are small, 

the stairs narrow,

and the walls

too thin.


tiny garden,

busy road,

busy and dangerous.


the house is cold, damp.

windows rot

water drips everywhere.

floorboards warp and sag.


the house is twenty years old.


[ from the fingers give lace [ 1997 ] - An 11.59 

Publication ]




house

steve coel





house

steve coel


The audience today is large. 

the shout, still loud, probably louder.


steve coel
An 11.59 Publication
Enqiries: an1159publication@gmail.com





Weekend Pass



Weekend Pass

steve coel



grey dismal sky

disgusted with seeping sighs


cellars of music and cheap meat

middle aged women and american sailors

careening  preening   screaming

angel of delight spewing

on damp carpeted staircases


pressing mobiles young children

glare at old timers clicking tongues

on fairground rides in broken jeans



these extracts from the experimental flash fiction 

performance piece  'Weekend Pass' were requested at the 

National Flash Fiction Day.


thanks to:

Quimbys in Chicago    www.quimbys.com

and 

Atomic Books in Baltimore     www.atomic books.com


steve coel


An 11.59 Publication

middle lane birds





middle lane birds

steve coel


recorded some of the soundtrack today. 

steve coel
An 11.59 Publication

middle lane birds




around church stretton - steve coel


along grassed up middle lane birds 

swoop as insects 

skirt and skit...

time held in place, bells

distant with summer smells brown

and crinkled blue.


steve coel


An 11.59 Publication


Steve Coel



steve coel



studio
steve coel



steve coel



in the studio, selecting pictures for Tin Collector.

steve coel
An 11.59 Publication 
 an1159publication.blogspot.com 

kildas song





kildas song.

[ written by a wall, on the island overlooking the ocean ]


quarrels echo across the yard towards a large watery 

gate 

grey. figures turn; hiding their hands and run, 

as animals scatter with the wind that howls 

down the hill


women gather, and men glare behind vast whiskers.

in photographs heavy locks 

fasten decisions about the outside.


steve coel


An 11.59 Publication

Microflashfiction - Steve Coel




Travel Notes.



...blasts on metal kits and clips of rubber on hackneyed 

streets...bottles drunk from damp fingers and hair touching 

woollen shoulders...toes shrunken in pebbles as lights 

flicker across pink water on grey boats and limp buildings...

flimsy machines collecting coins and live dreams from 

fragile bones, damp hands and nylon shoes.



steve coel



An 11.59 Publication

Frayed Trousers



Frayed Trousers

steve coel


it was always going to be the rings on his fingers. 

dead giveaway. 

every time.


not his car coat. not his appalling smile just before 

he lost it.

his cheap shoes, the shoes he liked a lot, and his too 

long frayed trousers, just seem to go unnoticed. 


strange that.


scam is what he would call it. is all.

people watch too much TV see.


so...just a few backhanders, a couple of meetings and 

the usual sealed envelope.

he didn't hurt anyone; anyone you'd care about anyways.


well, did he?


steve coel


Draft - Wolf Within [ 2016 ]

An 11.59 Publication



Where's my sister?




11.59 [ illustration ]

steve coel




Where's my sister?

steve coel


we see you through the laundrette window on the 

high street.

huddled tightly in your blanket you are trying to keep the 

cold from bones and wet hair.

you clasp a book in the dim, cheap light.

a single glove on your other hand, a hat limp against 

your shin.



you are; young yet old, in your city camouflage gazing at 

passing cars, coat muddied, trousers soiled.



"where's my sister?"

"where's my sister?"

you shout.


you are not a fool as later you stand at the pavement edge, 

forgetful, wracked with thoughts, demons and beer.


in framed windows of fire and TVs a city will still ignore 

this frightened man while small children continue to play 

and cause trouble before tea.





11.59 [ illustration ]

steve coel



An 11.59 Publication


chances are





11.59 [ Illustration]

steve coel



chances are.

chances are

chances taken.
              
                steve coel


An 11.59 Publication