A LINE OF URBAN STEAM

A LINE OF URBAN STEAM


A gentle line of urban steam
Drifted from the ear
Of the house that’s opposite
Forty yards from here.


It made me think of Larkin’s sighs
And Coronation street
And all those contemplations
Evoked by feline feet.


Though zoomed in far too closely
To see the neighbourhood
I just know it’s a weekday
Their maths I’ve understood.


The auditory Sabbaths
They give themselves away
And even with the sound down
Their logo won’t decay


The roads fill up with clouds of guilt
And rain severity
The retailers recoil a jot
And play at piety.


A gentle line of water vapour
More now than before
Made me introspective
I watched me watch for awe.


It made me think and reckon on
Life’s Tuesday afternoons
Whose kindred Wednesday mornings
Spill unique shapes and tunes.



TIM SANSOM 25TH FEBRURARY 2007