on the bird tablesparrows feeding
© Rachel Green 2019
Guilt and Regret
25.
in Bromsgrove winte
your black and red scarf,
against the grey monuments
of cemetery stone
fresh from cleaning the pub
you stank of bleach
and yesterday's beer
shuddering as you related
the horrors of the Gents' loos
and the sticky lino
and lounge room carpets
that sucked at our feet
walking down the high street
Woolworths and Burger King
and the little tea shop at the botton
one tea, one lemon tea
and a toasted teacake to share.
Saturday morning antiques market
Borstal roll-ups
warm our mouths,
our fingers
Our ears pierced again
for "fifty pence an ear"
but two holes in one lobe
was still a pound
your parent's house
where your dad played chess
against a ZX Spectrum
and your mum watched telly
with the bedroom door open.
skoking at the bedroom window
fucking with skirts on
because your mum looks in
and your sister
drinking cocktails
chicken chinese take away
I only eat the veggies
under the steaky lines
of a rented VHS
College years
I visited every weekend
until you went away
and found someone new
that last visit
to my flat in wolverhampton
where the rats played water pipe organ
and we fucked for the last time
and I moved on.
© Rachel Green 2019
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