Dad showed me how to hammer in a nail
Without busting your thumb or splitting the wall
Firm taps, not big smashes. I didn’t listen
I was too busy thinking of where I was going
As part of a procession, starting up in Gee Cross
At the Grapes Hotel, and working my way down
Into the centre of Hyde on New Year’s Eve
Where there was a tradition of fancy dress
Girls kissing men they’d never met. If I’d listened
I wouldn’t have lost a lump of plaster, needed
To find myself a bigger picture. An erotic print
By Hokusai or Hiroshige. After all these years
I still confuse them. I’m an idiot
Actually, it’s by Utamaro
The best kisser that New Year was a girl
Who lived in Romiley dressed as Mayumi Aoki
The Japanese gold medal winner
For the 100m butterfly at the Munich Olympics
Wearing goggles and a swimsuit
.
Steven Taylor
,