april 29th

a poem about a pub



somehow i seem to have ended up
in greater londons least efficient pub
its quite full but cant be called busy
but none of the barstaff want to service me
im not sure if thats because theyre, arrogant, lazy
or just too stupid to need less than three
of them to work the debit card machine
10 minutes or so later im served
by the arrogant blonde one whose words
try to imply "im breezy but aplogetic"
whilst body language screams that "im-fit-and-i-work-behind-a-bar" rhetoric
when shes neither all that nor strictly speaking working
unless her job description reads "flirting and shirking"
so now im too much poorer
with not-quite-a-pint of beer
which im glad to have drunk
but not entirely sure
im pleased that it had to be here

april 28th

a poem about crystal palace



lets take a walk
its ok, we'll drive there
and back, but lets take a walk
through the subtle decay
at first glance it seems like desolation
but this landscape of post-commercialisation
holds its own strange beauty
crumbling steps to nowhere
once magnificent foundation archways
all that remains of a monument
to a glorious empire
a victorian theme park
now just some stone
left alone
but all but weeds and grass
passers by, joggers
dogwalkers, doggers?
an in your face edifice
to remind the suburbs of grand ideas
we couldnt care enough to have if we tried

meandering past the mazelike architectural parody
that is "train station" with child daubed murals
we have to try to make someone care
to nowhere place
hit by the realisation that as a child
i stood in the same spot
in the midst of a zoo

but before you know it - the lake
you have to look for the worried edges
of the dinosaurs weathered, weary bodies
a hundred years may as well be a million
may as well be yesterday

concrete steps lead us to the entrance
of the jubilee stand
silent as the track it watches
the concrete bridge now an integral part of the avenue
leading us inevitably upwards

no wonder your eyes are full of sorrow, paxton,
theres a dog urinating on your plinth