I looked up
This is a final drafting….for now 🙂
few raise their eyes to look at clouds –
the skies hold intimations of eternal
considerations best left to theologians
town folk meander, mesmerised, eyes down,
skimming ‘essential news’ – others’ bargains,
Snapchat cappuccinos, cats, and kittens.
unlike those truly lost – scratching
‘S O S’ on desolation beaches,
or firing flares amid mountain seas
or standing in foreign fountain squares,
wrestling with maps, trying to figure
how they can get from where they are, to
the sepulchre of Sainte Someone-or-other.
urban lost souls, sighing silently,
nightly herd their head-down
weary rut-way home
to brawling kids
and supper on the sofa.
roll back to summer 74;
on a breezy esplanade,
Scarborough, as I remember,
scanning rows of cliff-top benches
tight with old-girl pensioners. their heads
spree-rinsed electric blue or shocking pink.
legs spread wide, brazenly flaunting bloomers
exactly the tint of their coiffures,
gauging the ‘tackle’ of young bucks passing –
a cackle of ‘kiss me quick’ Medusas.
although half-petrified, I gazed upwards –
finding the panorama glorious.
© coolhermit 2023
Views: 1665
Interesting to see how this analysis of the “Brave(??) New World” develops.
up until 4 am working on it – here’s the second draft (above) 🙂
My Mother-in-Law was from Yorkshire, she loved Scarborough. You might have seen here there. She’d’ve been up for it in ’74! 🙂
Seriously this is getting better. I missed the bit about tourists lost reading maps, maybe because I’ve done just that.
I like the gentle sarcasm of the ever so slightly caustic observations of our weaknesses and foibles.
I guess your work appeals to my jaded view of humanity.
just posted the final final version 🙂 yeah – those maps! just couldnae work em in – there will be other occasions 🙂
By the way – a neighbour’s grannie used to sit like that in matching bloomers and hair – so my memory is accurate – ha ha 🙂
guajiros – just for you (I’m yielding to public pressure here) the maps are back in 🙂
hmm – legs akimbo might work – I liked manspreading but it might be anachronistic – I’ll give it a looksee and I like manspreading mesen 🙂 Thanks gothicman 🙂
ps not the action of manspreading – my knees always remain close together – the word I mean ha ha
just checked – manspreading comes from August 2015 – hence my demur 🙂
This is turning into a classic saga. Thanks for the maps. I forgot to say the line “a cackle of ‘kiss me quick’ Medusas.” is a fucking diamond absolutely brilliant.
ha ha – the heads and drawers were shades of red and pink – green would have made a pleasing change 🙂