Jerrybaldy
08-18-2010, 04:40 PM
He left for work at 7.30 sharp
Black suit, crisp white shirt, tight blue tie,
As he drove away he waved to the kids,
sleepy heads poked between bedroom curtains.
His wife curled into a ball in the bed
still wet in ravaged sheets.
He drove to the beach,
walked its length barefoot.
Then sat in a deckchair, suit trousers rolled up
licking an ice cream, dripping vanilla.
He poured vinegar on cockles, bought a beach ball
kicked it, chased it, kicked it back.
Argued loudly with the man with the tan,
who said he was too big for his donkey.
When the sun was high, he stripped
and ran into the sea laughing as his manhood
slapped his thighs.
He returned to his crumpled suit and booked a hotel.
In the bar he cradled a cold beer
dipping his nose in the froth
to put a smile on the kid with the packet of crisps.
He walked in the casino at 10.08
put five hundred pounds on black
and walked out with a smile at 10.09.
With the twenty note he had left
He bought a bottle of Jack
and sat beneath the pier and wept.
When Jack was gone, he swam again
frigid and naked, squinting,
to turn the two moons into one.
He built a sandcastle on the dark beach
for two hours, stood, trampled it
and returned to his hotel.
He awoke in the bath in the morning
skin so cold and shrivelled,
it hurt more than his head.
On arrival home the next day
he confirmed his business trip had gone well.
He packed that night
through the screams of his wife
and left for good at 7.30 sharp.
The children waving goodbye,
heads poked between bedroom curtains.
Black suit, crisp white shirt, tight blue tie,
As he drove away he waved to the kids,
sleepy heads poked between bedroom curtains.
His wife curled into a ball in the bed
still wet in ravaged sheets.
He drove to the beach,
walked its length barefoot.
Then sat in a deckchair, suit trousers rolled up
licking an ice cream, dripping vanilla.
He poured vinegar on cockles, bought a beach ball
kicked it, chased it, kicked it back.
Argued loudly with the man with the tan,
who said he was too big for his donkey.
When the sun was high, he stripped
and ran into the sea laughing as his manhood
slapped his thighs.
He returned to his crumpled suit and booked a hotel.
In the bar he cradled a cold beer
dipping his nose in the froth
to put a smile on the kid with the packet of crisps.
He walked in the casino at 10.08
put five hundred pounds on black
and walked out with a smile at 10.09.
With the twenty note he had left
He bought a bottle of Jack
and sat beneath the pier and wept.
When Jack was gone, he swam again
frigid and naked, squinting,
to turn the two moons into one.
He built a sandcastle on the dark beach
for two hours, stood, trampled it
and returned to his hotel.
He awoke in the bath in the morning
skin so cold and shrivelled,
it hurt more than his head.
On arrival home the next day
he confirmed his business trip had gone well.
He packed that night
through the screams of his wife
and left for good at 7.30 sharp.
The children waving goodbye,
heads poked between bedroom curtains.