I am Evelyn Waugh 

Grasping onto 

The glorious historical 

Past 

All romance and whimsy 

Shaking it for all might 

To savour 

In case 

It don’ come back at all 

 

Brown pale thrust 

Upright brushes and galing winds 

Clouds forming overhead 

Shades of the green 

Nursing slats 

Light on the 

Bitumen 

 

Salt caked flaxed 

Strawberry blonde 

Against a blue metal frame 

Peals 

Around 

Shaded

Corners

 

And legs up 

Against the post 

Doin’ nuthin’ 

But watching the sky 

Move against 

Busted ground 

Underneath 

 

Makin’ up me own 

Stories 

That may not have 

Existed at all 

Holding on 

Gathering the material 

That makes it 

Back whole 

 

It was like that with her 

Always 

Seeing the magic 

Where maybe 

There was none 

 

Not realising 

That when she was gone 

So too was that

 

The sense we were 

Special 

In some way 

 

Now I keep 

Trying to grab something 

Case it’s gone 

Collecting 

Clues 

Waugh like 

 

I’ll wrap something around it

Caress the unknown 

And make it 

Shiver 

 

Throw it into the light

And make them 

Remember 

 

Bet they 

Could tell you 

Just how they looked 

When it happened 

All at once