THEN I SAID

When the snow was coming in sideways
I was out on the hill in my gear
up and down the little hill of my infancy
taking in the bumps and knocks
an absorption artist
a Houdini in reverse

When the snow lay meters thick
I was at home and wouldn’t leave
the fire and the warmth
looking into toys’ souls
a psychoanalyst of inanimate matter

The fun and the summer came
and made me cry
from knowing what made
the days turn long and the river overflow
a barometer of blood
knocked on by a breeze and the shining stars

After checking in
I passed security
which went well
and then I strolled around for ten
minutes looking at sun-glasses
Eau-de-Cologne
bags and other luxury items
and soon a pretty someone asked:

Are you looking for something in particular?

But I was walking towards the big windows
and sat down
to watch the planes
take off
and they did all
the time
I had a large
Cappuccino
with a toasted panini
took some photographs with my
mobile cellular phone
and
It became time
to find the gate
but first I went
to the toilet

Where do all these jerks come from? Seriously
the hail bounced like plastic pellets
on the asphalted will, I got scared
of the light for once

My city is quiet when I come home
I’m the only one walking this way
on an empty Finchley Road at 2 am
I ask the buss driver how much the
nightly fare is and he murmurs
something and I say can you please
just let me off at Camden town
I only have a tenner?
and when I come home my door is locked
and I scale the façade to smuggle myself into
the place where I can sleep
and it’s quiet here and the blossoms around our door
breath the quiet air

I’ve come from Germany tonight on a plane
I’ve read about the novel tonight on the M25
I’ve landed with a 737 tonight
but the novel’s in a dire way
and the city of London’s in a bad way
and I’m not doing too hot myself
to be honest

but what I’m struggling with is more than this
the honesty of this account
the what to say and how to feel

It was literature that saved the day and alcohol
will ruin tomorrow