-As we look
-As we look we see a man
-He’s walking his cat
-I don’t think so
-He’s walking a lemur
-This isn’t the jungle
-I didn’t say that
-It’s an urban jungle
-Lampposts, pavements – you know the type
-He’s exploring this strange feeling landscape considering
-He’s thinking about life, the universe and everything
-Douglas Adams is freshly squeezed in his mind
-He’s reviewing the pomposity of the novels and objectively concerned with what is really real
-And what isn’t?
-It’s like someone’s turned the music up in his brain
-He doesn’t know how to shut it all off
-Nor does he want to
-Soon this mania will pass
-And he will stop seeing jungles and antelopes
-It’s really noisy and while others find it disconcerting
-George
-His name is George
-And his lemur is called Tobi
-He enjoys these loud moments of clarity
-Before returning to the humdrum banality and business stocks and shares
-Sure, it’s not all picnics and lunch-boxes
-He’s about to cross the road
-Cross the road and up the high street
-To check out all the new books in the Oxfam bookshop
-Over the loud music in his head, he hears the consistent beep of the pelican crossing
-And knows that it is safe to cross
-He’s cutting through the jungle floor
-Across to the other side of the road and up the high street
-Tobi’s in tow and the pair browse for the latest books in the Oxfam shop
-It’s a good Sunday.
ENDS
PHILIPPA MANNION 