Written for Paul Brookes' ekphrastic challenge - one poem a day in April 2021.
The art works for this day are "Homeless", "Geri" and "Unnamed" by John Law, Kerfe Roig and Jane Cornwell respectively
It was here, well, just up there
that he last worked. Windows boarded
up wher he spent time watching
people passing by. Making up stories
about their lives. Trying to avoid thinking
about his next drink. A distraction.
He'd stopped thinking about drink
long ago. Stuck in this underpass;
grimy, damp, and occasional wind tunnel.
Wandering the soiled streets by day.
He sometimes fantasised about being
a tramp, a hobo from his childhood.
Wandering the countryside, feasting
on wild fruit and stealing vegetables
from a farmer's garden like Peter Rabbit.
Fashioning a home from branches
and leaves, sleeping to the hoots
of owls and screeching fox.
Hoots of derision and screeching tyres.
A cat that crossed the underpass
to avoid him. Feasting on bin leftovers.
Stealing if he could get away with it.
One day he hoped to wake up
from this nightmare. Or maybe not.
Tim Fellows 2021
No comments:
Post a Comment