A Perpetual State of Attack

By Nathan Cocker

A perpetual state of attack.

A journey into a fractured mind.

Loneliness can do things to you. It can make you see things, hear things, believe things are going to get you. A poetic adventure, with comedy and tragedy, examining the effect of modern life on mental health.

This be the war...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Mar 25, 2019
• ISBN: 9780244471545

Book preview

A Perpetual State of Attack

by Nathan Cocker

A Perpetual State of Attack

2nd Edition

Copyright © 2021 Nathan Cocker

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

ISBN: 978-0-244-47154-5

Published by Nathan Cocker

106 Lincroft

Oakley

Bedford

Bedfordshire

UK

MK43 7SS

www.nathancocker.com

www.poetry-365.com

For Sophia

Phase I

I

This be the war!

This time there’ll be no compromise.

I still don’t know what I’m supposed to do and

I saw them invade. I saw them creep in…

Creeping into

      my kitchen. 

      my home. 

      my country. 

      my universe. 

      my vision. 

      my senses. 

      my brain. 

      my life. 

They crept in with their illegal troop movement 

Their plan: to annex my sugar bowl. 

They’ll launch a commando raid on my fridge, then

Scuttle off with my coke - the spoils of war. 

What do they want with me?

Will they steal me in the end?

What will they do?

Hold me down? Snip off my arms?

This is it, then. The game is on, again. 

This time, it’s real. Streaming on Twitch.

It’s the ultimate battle. 

Of good and evil. 

A battle of

      wits and wills. 

      wiles and warriors. 

      heroes and villains. 

      bloodshed and violence. 

      generals and admirals. 

      attack and defence. 

      awakenings and realisation. 

      men and Ants.

I’ll write all this shit down.

But elsewhere there’ll be poetry written. 

It’ll tell of victory without compromise. 

This be the war!

II

They are everywhere now. 

I feel them crawling. 

In my

      shoes. 

      shirt. 

      trousers. 

      pants. 

      ears. 

      nostrils. 

      throat. 

      brains. 

      emails. 

      TVs. 

      opinions. 

      heart. 

Crawling inside my head, my mind. 

They are everywhere now!

III

This morning I found one floating in a glass of water. 

It was alive, I could tell. 

They are impervious to water. 

They are impervious to flame. 

They are impervious to lasers. 

They are impervious to sound. 

They are impervious to viruses. 

They are impervious to radiation. 

They are impervious to my boot. 

They are impervious to a magnifying glass. 

They are impervious to being sliced in two. 

It was still alive, both bits, I could tell. 

This morning I found one floating in a glass of water.

IV

I think they are spying on me. 

One of them tracked me around