When We Forgot To Sing

When We Forgot To Sing
(Dedicated To Those Occupying and Fighting To Keep Boscombe Arts Centre Alive)
By
Jack Hughes

When We Forgot To Sing Songs
And play, when we didn’t dance
Our reminder arrived
With a chatter of voices as excited
As the noise of a children’s rhyme,
When an exaltation of larks descended
To inform us of the ripping in two
Of Rossetti’s song. And as if a joker had
Produced a polka dot cloth
To mop the burning brow of the
Lady cast in marble, a wood pigeon
Carried the news further afield, leaving
A feather as a calling card and stopping
All celebrations. Time halted, keys failed
To unlock and only inside padded envelopes
Would we find the directions which would lead
Us through the maze of broken steps until
We again found our unity in music and games.
And we did, and we danced, and we sang, and we
Celebrated , and we swore that never again would
We forget to sing our song.

©Jack Hughes 2012