By the Scaffold

Smoky night down the 

Harbour Street, Whitstable. 

The tea on the windowsill 

Is getting cold while the 

Night stayed frozen and still. 

 

The construction man resting

After a clean slate repair 

Of a decomposing building, 

Eavesdropped on the indistinctive 

Voice heard from inside the window. 

 

Tascam played the last words 

Of a mariner to the love of his life,

Moments before the ship wrecked. It said -

"If I ever run out of breath day after, 

Unite me with her life after." 

 

A tear drop rolls down 

The lady's eyes. For a moment there, 

The construction man was on a verge 

To intrude and comfort her. 

But there were reasons stopping him. 

 

The construction man 

Sitting by the scaffold, 

Fixing the building from outside,

Feels for the walls breaking inside. 

Weather reports - The coldest night of the year.