AT DEGREES Of SEPARATION:

Extraordinary peoples of the gutter,
Bow their heads to inclement weather,
Foetus curled beneath sleeping materials,
Eroded by the drag of time,

Recipients of violence,
Pissed on,
Kicked,
Punched,
Spat on,
Let’s ‘ave a little,
Fun, fun, fun,

Fellow Citizens,
Of this island,
My island,
Brothers & Sisters,
Violated by Brothers & Sisters,

Relegated to lab-rats,
Devoid of emotion,
It don’t count,
Nobody gives a shit anyway,
What you lookin’ at?

Nameless,
Faceless,
Story-less,
Past-less,
Pointless,

Exposed without walls,
Doors
Locks,
Sanctuary,
Luxury of somewhere safe to sleep,
Tonight,
So what?

What..?
End of the 90’s,
This son was one step away,
From being unlooked in the eye,
Asleep on the street,
Not shouting lager,
Nor Mega,
Nor Hands raised into laser hallelujah,
Nor spotting trains,

Who wouldn’t even treat a dog?

(K)

AT MORNING ABLUTIONS:

I’m writing to you,
From a hotel room,
I’ve been before,
Once,
Weird,
Only once,
I’ve been coming here for years,

Telephone calls,
Late at night,
A familiar voice,
“You wouldn’t believe what happened last night.
When I got back home I’d just missed a full on rave in the kitchen.
That lot we seen on the street,
The girls in hotpants & heels,
The boys in shirts & cameras.
They were filming LOVE ISLAND in my kitchen!”

I mean,
You got to respect weirdness like that,

Visiting The Homeless Library

(K)

AT MANCHESTER BY NIGHT:

The girls are frisky.
In hotpants & heels,
Lobbing empties into shadows,
Scream randy provocations at muscled boys,
Who document everything with cameras,
Climb into pony-white 4×4’s,
Punch the freezing night air with fists & victory signs,

Love & solace.

(K)

AT MINTY MOUTH:

I’m sat here,
In a bar,
Waiting for a friend,
Introduced by fate,

A man is laughing at a machine,
His face illuminated by it’s soporific glow,
Wires disappear into his ears,
Perhaps he’s talking to no one,

A woman sits in shadow,
She makes the shadows beautiful,
Talking to a man still as stone,
All I see are teeth & eyes when she smiles,

The Blues is playing in the background,
But not the authentic stuff,
There’s a stuffed Pink flamingo in the window,
Behind the head of the woman of eyes & teeth,

Outside it’s raining,
On a square of Green,
Illuminated by windows,
Granite, glass & steel,

The bar fills with tired suits,
Tired faces,
The woman with the teeth & eyes says loud above the Blues,
“But it’s a really BIG network!”

(K)

AT PARKING BAY:

Where have you been?
Where are you going?
Paid twice for the ticket,
Stuck in traffic,
Are you massive?

It’s a balancing act,
Better late than never,
What’s in the bag?
What’s the film about?
The Sale goes on,

How big are you now?
You must be enormous,
Have you got three bedrooms or two?
I want a garage,
Free from confusion.

(K)

AT THE BIRTH OF RADIO:

Saturn walks into the room,
To talk on the radio,
To a laughing man,
Who keeps it moving,
Keeps it light,
For the time of day,

Silent gaps appear,
Cracks appear between them,
Saturn & the laughing man,
Words fail to arrive,
Though desired,
The river remains glitched,

The laughing man fills the gaps,
The radio exuding the colour ‘Salmon’,
A little pink cloud of flowers,
Framed in White,
Rides radio waves,
Bareback into the room,

Saturn learns fast,
Tests a joke,
A chuckle,
A disarming,
Charming,
Act of unprecedented self deprecation,

Keep it moving,
Keep it light,
Even the heavy,
Laughing eventually,
The time of day,
Saturn walks back into the room.

(K)

AT HAMMERSMITH:

Who,
When she sees me says,
“It makes me laugh!”

Who,
When she sees me,
Hands me a ticket,
On which is written,
“It’s free”

Who,
Wears a Yellow stone around her neck,
On a Leather thong,

Who,
Likes the word ‘thong’,
Conjuring palm trees,
Catching sea breeze,
Pacific shorelines,

Who,
Loves the sun,
Works underground in an cafe,

(K)

MOVES INVISIBLE IN CROWDS OF THOUSANDS:

Voluptuous Cartoon angel,
Blow your horn,
Get some clothes on,

So naturally fast,
Tell me what you’re thinking,
Don’t pull punches,

The next big thing,
On the cover of another free thing,
Given by frozen hands at stations,

There’s a pride,
And there’s a strength,
On the face of this season’s tattooed boy,

Moves invisible in crowds of thousands,
Moves right down inside trains,
It’s a cold night,
Looking to get closer.

(K)

CONCRETE PALACE:

On the ground floor,
Next to the ticket machines,
I lost my memory,

Blue car UEB,
Silver car RZT,
This is not about me.

(K)

PHYSICALITY:

The train arrives,
A Black car is waiting,
Engine running,
Rain clings,
Close as skin,
It’s getting dark,
Here she comes,
Listening for somewhere to talk,
Where no one can hear.

Today I’m playing laisse ça être by Aquaserge

(K)