derek murray oliver
@derekmurrayo.bsky.social
birdbrain. poems published in Lines Magazine, thi wurd.
this evening I made a chicken soup, filled my plate up, put it down with the intention of getting a spoon but instead inadvertently took out another plate for myself and began ladling that one up also.
“What are you doing?”
After some thought …
“I’ve decided to have my second helping first.”
“What are you doing?”
After some thought …
“I’ve decided to have my second helping first.”
November 26, 2025 at 7:32 PM
this evening I made a chicken soup, filled my plate up, put it down with the intention of getting a spoon but instead inadvertently took out another plate for myself and began ladling that one up also.
“What are you doing?”
After some thought …
“I’ve decided to have my second helping first.”
“What are you doing?”
After some thought …
“I’ve decided to have my second helping first.”
i believe that the diagnostic term for having a mental breakdown during a meal is “soup to nuts”. Of course i can’t claim to have read any of the relevant medical journals.
November 18, 2025 at 3:32 PM
i believe that the diagnostic term for having a mental breakdown during a meal is “soup to nuts”. Of course i can’t claim to have read any of the relevant medical journals.
boots function much better with laces i have found out (yesterday i bought laces for my boots).
I enjoy finding out things that folk have learned ages ago. Onward!
I enjoy finding out things that folk have learned ages ago. Onward!
November 12, 2025 at 9:30 AM
boots function much better with laces i have found out (yesterday i bought laces for my boots).
I enjoy finding out things that folk have learned ages ago. Onward!
I enjoy finding out things that folk have learned ages ago. Onward!
dream: driving in a car that is deflating, not just a tyre but the whole structure of the car is losing its shape. eventually we make it to a gas station, at which point the car is completely flat and we are all sitting on the tarmac within what’s left of the car.
October 28, 2025 at 12:13 PM
dream: driving in a car that is deflating, not just a tyre but the whole structure of the car is losing its shape. eventually we make it to a gas station, at which point the car is completely flat and we are all sitting on the tarmac within what’s left of the car.
It amuses me that the painter Leonora Carrington was expelled from boarding school for “attempting to levitate”.
October 21, 2025 at 7:36 AM
It amuses me that the painter Leonora Carrington was expelled from boarding school for “attempting to levitate”.
i feel the time is right for us to be reminded of when Sherwood Anderson met up with William Faulkner (and his deceptively spacious coat) for a drink. “We are wonderful people, we Americans.” !!
from “Death in the Woods” 1933.
#williamfaulkner #sherwoodanderson
from “Death in the Woods” 1933.
#williamfaulkner #sherwoodanderson
October 16, 2025 at 11:13 AM
i feel the time is right for us to be reminded of when Sherwood Anderson met up with William Faulkner (and his deceptively spacious coat) for a drink. “We are wonderful people, we Americans.” !!
from “Death in the Woods” 1933.
#williamfaulkner #sherwoodanderson
from “Death in the Woods” 1933.
#williamfaulkner #sherwoodanderson
”A man who had been abstinent from alcohol for two years slipped off the wagon and pestered members of the public in the city centre.”
I know there’s other stuff happening in the wider world but I say the lead story from the Inverness Courier wins headline of the day.
I know there’s other stuff happening in the wider world but I say the lead story from the Inverness Courier wins headline of the day.
October 15, 2025 at 9:30 AM
”A man who had been abstinent from alcohol for two years slipped off the wagon and pestered members of the public in the city centre.”
I know there’s other stuff happening in the wider world but I say the lead story from the Inverness Courier wins headline of the day.
I know there’s other stuff happening in the wider world but I say the lead story from the Inverness Courier wins headline of the day.
glad to see that László Krasznahorkai has won the Nobel lit prize. Usually I’ve never heard of the writer, let alone read them; but in this case i have. In this case I was so struck by The Melancholy of Resistance; a dense, dark and absurd work; i painted “Leviathan”. #laszlokrasznahorkai
October 10, 2025 at 4:11 PM
glad to see that László Krasznahorkai has won the Nobel lit prize. Usually I’ve never heard of the writer, let alone read them; but in this case i have. In this case I was so struck by The Melancholy of Resistance; a dense, dark and absurd work; i painted “Leviathan”. #laszlokrasznahorkai
finished this painting yesterday. “writer’s hut.” Acrylic on canvas. #janetframe #NewZealand #nzwriter
September 18, 2025 at 12:13 PM
finished this painting yesterday. “writer’s hut.” Acrylic on canvas. #janetframe #NewZealand #nzwriter
"what dissonance there is would not alarm an elderly aunt"
from a review of William Walton’s Cello Concerto (1957). haha!
from a review of William Walton’s Cello Concerto (1957). haha!
September 17, 2025 at 1:09 PM
"what dissonance there is would not alarm an elderly aunt"
from a review of William Walton’s Cello Concerto (1957). haha!
from a review of William Walton’s Cello Concerto (1957). haha!
woke up angrily with a dream still in my head about Bitcoin, which I misheard as Bigcoin.“It’s just a rich man’s fantasy, walking around displaying his wealth with an enormous coin.the expense! Having to change all the vending machines to accommodate this huge new form of currency. It’s offensive!”
August 16, 2025 at 7:08 AM
woke up angrily with a dream still in my head about Bitcoin, which I misheard as Bigcoin.“It’s just a rich man’s fantasy, walking around displaying his wealth with an enormous coin.the expense! Having to change all the vending machines to accommodate this huge new form of currency. It’s offensive!”
Reposted by derek murray oliver
I can turn any room into a panic room.
June 23, 2025 at 8:47 AM
I can turn any room into a panic room.
it amuses me that Tomas Tranströmer didn't like the central library in Stockholm. the heavy still air "gave him a headache". the books there had no fumes of chlorine and there was no echoing voices like at his local library at Medborgarplatsen with its adjacent swimming pool.
June 16, 2025 at 8:44 PM
it amuses me that Tomas Tranströmer didn't like the central library in Stockholm. the heavy still air "gave him a headache". the books there had no fumes of chlorine and there was no echoing voices like at his local library at Medborgarplatsen with its adjacent swimming pool.
friends. i bought a beer. first one in a couple of weeks. It's a 2.8%-er. so just be aware, in about half an hour you may well get a call with me shouting down the line that you're my best friend, or that I've never liked you, or you'll hear someone sobbing gently into the phone.
June 16, 2025 at 8:42 PM
friends. i bought a beer. first one in a couple of weeks. It's a 2.8%-er. so just be aware, in about half an hour you may well get a call with me shouting down the line that you're my best friend, or that I've never liked you, or you'll hear someone sobbing gently into the phone.
in my home town folk are often heard to say “i’ll meet you at the horse.” And “get off the bus at the horse.”
June 15, 2025 at 8:04 PM
in my home town folk are often heard to say “i’ll meet you at the horse.” And “get off the bus at the horse.”
note to self: stop saying "nature's bounty" with a nod of the head and a knowing smile in the supermarket “crisps” section.
June 15, 2025 at 3:37 PM
note to self: stop saying "nature's bounty" with a nod of the head and a knowing smile in the supermarket “crisps” section.
Swedish woodland: set-up, set-up, set-up, punchline!
May 15, 2025 at 8:23 AM
Swedish woodland: set-up, set-up, set-up, punchline!
man: me and you are very alike.
2nd man: (hysterically) you take that back!
2nd man: (hysterically) you take that back!
April 26, 2025 at 10:06 AM
man: me and you are very alike.
2nd man: (hysterically) you take that back!
2nd man: (hysterically) you take that back!
”As before, here too I have no desire to delve into geographical and seasonal indicators, I'd rather turn my attention to sausages and castles.”
Robert Walser
Robert Walser
April 22, 2025 at 9:33 AM
”As before, here too I have no desire to delve into geographical and seasonal indicators, I'd rather turn my attention to sausages and castles.”
Robert Walser
Robert Walser
”If there are lawsuits in the north he demands that people put an end to their pettiness
He plods about at a loss during the cold summer
Everyone calls him Blockhead
No one sings his praises or takes him to heart. That is the kind of person I want to be.”
fr. Strong in the Rain. Kenji Miyazawa 1933
He plods about at a loss during the cold summer
Everyone calls him Blockhead
No one sings his praises or takes him to heart. That is the kind of person I want to be.”
fr. Strong in the Rain. Kenji Miyazawa 1933
February 14, 2025 at 12:28 PM
”If there are lawsuits in the north he demands that people put an end to their pettiness
He plods about at a loss during the cold summer
Everyone calls him Blockhead
No one sings his praises or takes him to heart. That is the kind of person I want to be.”
fr. Strong in the Rain. Kenji Miyazawa 1933
He plods about at a loss during the cold summer
Everyone calls him Blockhead
No one sings his praises or takes him to heart. That is the kind of person I want to be.”
fr. Strong in the Rain. Kenji Miyazawa 1933
if i can be bothered i'm going to cancel my subscription to Fatso Magazine.
December 28, 2024 at 9:54 PM
if i can be bothered i'm going to cancel my subscription to Fatso Magazine.
i'm staying home today to practice wearing a shirt.
December 28, 2024 at 9:54 PM
i'm staying home today to practice wearing a shirt.
What’s the sentence you have heard the most?
I’ll start. for me it’s: “Sir, we are going to have to ask you to leave.”
I’ll start. for me it’s: “Sir, we are going to have to ask you to leave.”
December 28, 2024 at 7:57 PM
What’s the sentence you have heard the most?
I’ll start. for me it’s: “Sir, we are going to have to ask you to leave.”
I’ll start. for me it’s: “Sir, we are going to have to ask you to leave.”
“it was a Chinese restaurant?”
“Well; people in hats.”
“Well; people in hats.”
December 11, 2024 at 7:37 AM
“it was a Chinese restaurant?”
“Well; people in hats.”
“Well; people in hats.”
Mostly boring, interspersed with moments of terror.
December 9, 2024 at 7:52 AM
Mostly boring, interspersed with moments of terror.