a swelling knell of unceasing bells
echoing - renewal, heralding death.
I walk on patterned pavements.
Cobbled lanes where the scattered
remains of yesterday’s pizzas lie,
limp and sallow. Seagulls scream
and harry each other, over the carrion
of a spent meat supreme.
Down Hope street I stumble, fumble
a cigarette to my lips and take sips of carbon monoxide, nicotine and cyanide.
in the sun. Seeking a release from the hum, the liquid breakfast he’s just drunk.
At the corner of Hardman street, I stop noticing a penny someone has dropped. Grimy with indifference, no shine is left
to this coin. Bereft of purpose it sits!
Rain washed on the edge of the gutter,
on the cusp, uncertain - teetering.
