My name has only one s

My name has only one s

though it is often spelt with two

often I’m confused

am I this other man

that coughs up dandelions?

does he stand in the doorway drinking my cider?

I have often thought of Charlie Bayliss

the way a screw twists from a wall

he has rarely thought of me (I suppose)

“Charlie Baylis…” he says,

“your name is limited to one s

I hold the upper hand here

with my two – I am twice the s you are”

I search for him, ‘Mr Charlie Bayliss’, in long swimming lanes and meanders of country roads

his presence on google outweighs my presence on google

he is as real as a fountain pen or a burning car, a champagne bottle pops

his black limousine zooms past as I lie face down in the gutter

he tosses a coin my way, “there you are Charlie Baylis, I hope you recover,

you poor fool.”

In the morning I feel better. Or at least I hope to.

Charlie Baylis
Montage: Claire Palmer