To Grapes - Steve. His jacket 15 quid from e-bay, buttoned against the direction of my shirt buttons. His shoes - 3 quid. I suggested The George, 'Shall we go to The Dandy Lion?' I discussed Dylan mentioning Randy Newman's academy awards 'Shall we go to the Swan?' Sat at table, his conversation got us in to the circle. A guy called Hugo. Ridiculously attractive woman opposite me in braless white top. I could have sat there looking down women's shirts, into the pits of stoned eyes, listening to weighing coke stories; I headed home. Wrote this and these fragments tonight and yesterday at the bus stop:

Poetry

Rips a hand-out into squares
reaches a hand to cup the grey lit cloud rain.
Four gold flags follow the nudge of the wind
and catch the sun
at the top of the tower.

And everyone of the bus queue leaves
and with it the bus;
a street empty of traffic
and engines, the click of green high heels
the voice unrolled like a spring left to topple

silence



The world is yours to inherit if you just get out there
My mistake was buying in



Sheep cannot keep up with it
a field with sheep then
a field with seagulls
culled in their nests


Ones to Watch


A Woody Allen photograph:
poised with a cigarette, the smoke
a distance from her eyes.
Her china teapot before her on the picnic table.
Disconcerting her disregard / disavowal / lack of speech
her comments a joke under her breath
Thai
'Why should marriage be about settling down?'
Lulls you into speaking.
She used to work here.