He comes downstairs
To find
All the kitchen chairs
Re-arranged
In a semi-circle
Facing
The locked back door,
Coats and jackets
Off their hooks
Piled up on the floor,
Hears from upstairs
Creaking floorboards,
Tuneless singing,
Switches on the radio,
Flicks on the kettle
As Ray Davies asks
“What are we living for?”
Kevin Patrick McCann
Illustration Nick Victor