There’s a gap
Under the door
There’s a point
To its detection
More than a space
For the thrower
Time to anoint
A true reflection
There’s a light
On the hinge
With a reason
For further inspection
More than a beauty
With strength to singe
In this the season
Of faint intention
There’s a shadow
Of window’s lead
There’s a flower
To the true deception
More than a morning
Of bower to tread
There’s the power
Of words with correction
By the pier
But with no real money
So quite unable
To play the slot machines
Much then as it was
As a ten-year old
On Blackpool’s golden mile
Of penny arcades
Which in turn remind me
Of the girl who I asked to wait
at the South Shore pleasure beach
While I went back to Albert Road
Unfortunately the memory
Does not remember why I left
Or what was so god-damned important
That I needed to go and collect it
I am the I-click Marco Polo
Of this the open sea
I am the non-stop seagull
Confirming my territory
There is no end to my belligerence
Or my lack of dignity
Though I am thankful for the sparrow
Which appears to be on a par with me
A going nowhere Friday afternoon
Lost in that, the thoughtless haze
Of approaching rearrangements
Of that, the life as it once was known
In search of near calamity
Or for ceramics made in the rain
On the podium for past reality
With a look-out to the claim
Every place has its problems
Here it's the seagulls
The walkers with their dogs
And the irregular hours
Of the drug dealers
Everywhere on earth is blighted
With one annoyance or another
Here it is the broad beam shorts
For daughters and mothers
As they lean on the railings
Every town in every county
From the north to the south
Every hope quickly becomes regret
As sad words leave the mouth
To characterise the diminished accent
Gratitude
Towards pigeons
And Weatherspoon’s
Bask
In September sunshine
Between the clouds
To believe
Or to not believe
In the church of the church
Who meet in cinemas
Hotels, cafés
And your house if you let them
What else to do
But to sit up straight
Think of the last few lines
Before the tide goes out
Or the floodgates
Are put in place
