An Ode to Clarence Road

I am passive aggressive,
mutually exclusive,
physically elusive,
obsolete, complete.
I'm a run down house with no curtains and one light on.
I am the words to that half remembered song.
The graffiti of the stick men on the green shop shutter,
the words to your lover that you failed to utter.
I am the force that throws you forward when the 55 stops.
I'm all of the nail bars, sports bars and seedy betting shops.
Sam's 'Finger-lickin chicken' and the discarded bones.
That chosen song in her retro headphones.
Fixed gears, Polish beers and falafel wraps,
I am the sky above the marshes and afternoon naps.

Strip clubs and shit clubs, studio spaces,
secret locations and the latest places.
Forties quiffs and nineties crops
loafers, brogues and garish hi-tops.
Turn ups, skinnies cheques and fur.
Six cans for five pounds....that inevitable blur.
Straighten my afro, align my fringe
Braid it and shave it; a nice golden tinge.
Swim past street corner speakers
Late night barbers offering Monday night fills of rice and plantain.
You hijack my identity; we all look the same.

I followed the canal route and caught a look of rejection,
The heron's making love amongst my reflection.
I squawk like a night fox hunting for food.
I am his slow reggae music; his carefree mood.
The flowers tied to the railing that are now dead,
The orange juice with bits in by the side of your bed.

I sing against the sirens, strum against the shrieks.
I mutter monotone into my phone and go home alone
I dance to the waltz of the buses as they whine and glide past my door
I hum the tune of that advert and ask you the score.
You order rum and ginger beer in the late night dive.
I leave you feeling beaten but also alive.

You wake up to the night time with the day amiss.
I am the moment just before the kiss.
I resent you, torment you and flirt at every meeting.
I am the rhythm of a broken heart beating.
The pigeons on the roof top that do not notice your tears
A finished cup of coffee to pacify the fears.

And then I cycle slowly past you, and discover I love you