encircled

In Rotherhithe station you hear water as you wait.
Dripping. Seeping. Projecting a self. You cannot
See it. You peer into the tunnel, suspended
Beneath the inscrutable flow. Southwards lurks
Daylight. A train rumbles. Stuns the water’s whisper.

If you want me to stay, he sung, danced and feinted,
Cocking a snook at th’ invisible cradle which
Crowded the room, chattering its teeth, like water.


21.10.06