sometime between 1991 and 1996
a poem for younger readers from my hypertext novel axel-and-alice
fast bums of the west
naked
at the computer
shooting up
drunk with pixels
twitching
in the deepest dungeon
both guns blazing
firing all digits
calling all cars
forgetting all books
bare arse squirming
on the ergonomic chair
dripping from the shower
Axel
squeezes spikes and pustules
while I flick him with a towel
pump monotone hype
dupe him with speakers
anything
to break his concentration
he’s approaching my all time maze man high score
no one in the universe has beaten me
before
Axel spits on the screen yelling
Yes! Yes!
the droplets of spit
are bright beads of colour
jewels in the dungeon
lit by Axel’s
3 kilowatt antipersonnel lamp
after the game
I spit on the screen
and look closely
my eye on a bead of spit
try it yourself
look at the stripes of red green blue!