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THE LURE OF THE CAR BOOT SALE

Right now a car boot sale is forming

as the sun rises the fields are storming

the dedicated put their pride on hold

and wait in the muddy depths of cold.

The chirpy will thrive,  will naturally survive

with fistful of dollars and turned up collars.

      Dealers first ,with their gimlet eyes

      grubbing out the elusive prize,

      knowing the pressure of the moment's rise

      the lows of commerce and the rarer highs.

Lonely moochers dark - eyed souls

Elvis lookalikes,  with  blasted faces

survey the gamut of sagging trestles,of

glassware, brassware, picture frames, kiddies' games

DVDs, toys to tease, casements seized from hideous basements

cookbooks, billhooks, fishnets, wireless sets,

cages for pets,  art deco packets minus

cigarettes, jackets from tweedom,

twelve inch vinyls shouting songs of freedom.

Tin tacks, plastic sacks,

hardbacks, pushchairs,soft bears, Dan Dares

A seventies' lampshade partly squashed

still collectable by all accounts

fussed over while the tension mounts

by those who remember the brylcreem bounce.

Fire dogs, ceramic dogs, baskets for logs

anything in boxes,

empty boxes with signatures in

brass if you're lucky

some passed on officer who left town in a hurry.

A photograph of someone dearly cherished

who, captured in sepia has clearly perished.

The list goes on like the sagging hope

and the stooping shoulders as the clouds settle in.

It's just an inevitable drive from here

to the recycling pit or the charity shop.

The dreams go on and on and on

passed down from dusk to dawn

and another grateful customer clasps

the forgotten, downtrodden, strangely reborn.

 

◄ YOU CAN'T STROKE A SPIDER

THE CROWDS FORMED ►

Comments

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raypool

Tue 15th Mar 2016 10:10

Thanks for liking this one Jemima. You have revealed my "Achilles' heel" although I do tend to discard the mags that have served their purpose. I note that the female form is as varied and fascinating as anything that nature can offer! It was just a bit of fun really, but these sales can be sordid, and I've been there and done that. Come to think of it, aren't all sales a bit degrading?

Cheers Ray x

Jemima Jones

Tue 15th Mar 2016 06:18

Hi Ray.There isn't a single line that I don't love in this poem,the last one especially.Superb! In order to help stop your 'trestle from sagging' further,would you let me buy that heavy looking pile of nude modelling mags that I'm sure you have used only for artfully studying the female form.But before I do,may I ask if any of the pages are likely to be stuck together? haha! great poem Ray.Thank you.Jemima.

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