HAUTE  COUTURE*
 
insect parade 
rank and row 

his drybald impunence 
monsieur precision-parts in person 
one-time fore-room toolman 
distraints no object 
amid the encircling room 
addressing fibrous grins 
fiercely unguented mouths 

pointing up the blow-through 
blowing-up the minutinous 

the analgesic psychopants 
the frenetted fantasy-pads 
the biunical conickers 
the apple-pie boobs 
the sang-freudian pseudoslips 
the erectivity praecocks 
the surrascible propulsities 

minimating the maximammae 
mamma-momming his well-preened darlings 
their wombs all fitted with false teeth 
their very chastities smelling of men 

O loud applause! 

bowing in reply 
his glinting dome of sapience 
his immockulate mojesty 

but nosings at all mesdames 
no sings at all 
it is nosing 
nosing 
  
 

                              (1969)

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* This poem and the several others from FORMAT 7 were later included in FROM A LONDON SUBURB (Gogmagog Press, 1975). Colin Franklin described it as, ‘the most sad and disenchanted group of his poems.’ He further writes:

I received it with a note at Christmas 1975, in which [Morris Cox] wrote, ‘Having purposefully, as it obscure the text!’ (GOGMAGOG 152)

     When he sent a copy of FROM A LONDON SUBURB to the South African collector Corrie Guyt, Cox commented: ‘Among the poems you will find the one titled ‘Haute Couture’. You had serious doubts about this and I had considered leaving it out. But it does help to fulfil the picture I am trying to paint, although, believe me, this is in no way a criticism of your work as such. It was written before I knew you. Even so, I admire your standards and your Mother’s very much, and I think you would agree with me that in all the arts there are people who tend to go too far in the wrong direction and spoil things for the serious workers.’ (GOGMAGOG 83) While not explicit that Corrie Guyt was in the clothing business, as this letter suggests, he did supply Morris Cox with various cloth for use as binding material: ‘You will see that I have bound the book [FROM A LONDON SUBURB] in some of your Hong Kong silk, and the title-page has utilised one of your lace pieces!’ (ibid.)

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