10:31 pm tuesday south kensington light summer rain
on the walk to safeway on the queue outside
the cinema awaiting night’s last show
on shuttered shop windows on newspapers in french
hebrew and farsi on the chain bookshop waterstone
on the porno shop that specializes in latex fetish wear
on the internet café where singles hunch over terminals
on mobile phones shouted into on people doing the shouting
on vespas’ orbits in tight traffic on street walkers watching
a bit of street theater on the young and hip in retro 70s gear
on couples walking faster than i have ever seen fast walking
on the skinhead around 40 who stops me clutching a can of fuller’s london pride
excuse me young man, don’t mean to bother you,
i need 40 pence more, perhaps you can help
