Old Companions wend down Memory Lane
Imagining their broad Grand Thoroughfare
Christmas lights and Celebration bunting
Corner Shops refurbished fully-stocked
By fondly- labelled jars and retro juju
To have holiday in glancing backward
Seeking a suspension and repair – is natural
But unnatural and dangerous to stare –
For soon they shall be sprawling at the curb-side
Roll-ups and super-strength cans as their crutches
A greasy ‘chip’ borne heavy on each shoulder –
‘Too late’ an owlet hoots above the eaves
Of ‘Grey Chimneys’ and sub-let ‘Viagra Villas’
Memory Lane led to Bereavement Street
By way of low and mean Resentment Alley
I would rather make today the whole of time –
I can do without their Facebooks faking it
Their Dad-Rock desperation streaming out
Aural pick-me-up Old-Fashioned Humbugs
If I decide to court misplaced Nostalgia
It will be for things that I have yet to see –
Aliens speaking Goldberg Variations
In Climate Summit straight from Star Omega
Earth Politicians freed from trance
To make and implement Responsive Action
Some suppose time is an Open Spiral
When circles touch a sense of déjà vu
Informs us ‘Patience –
All returns again’
Today is all that lovers ever need
A fractal of eternity
Bernard Saint
Illustration: Claire Palmer
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