This poem is taken from PN Review 222, Volume 41 Number 4, March - April 2015.
A Name Loosely Attached’ and Other Poems
A Name Loosely Attached
In the street where I lived as a child
The occupants of houses next to the gas lamps
Lent them their names. So we’d meet
In the yellow circle of Leatherheads’,
Or race downhill to Stevensons’, sometimes make off
For Bowerses’. The fourth, higher, near the top
Was alien country, nameless. Those who gave
Their names were remembered when they’d
Flitted by conservative-minded boys; otherwise,
Apart from forays when we outshouted
Convenience, or mester was on shift work,
They kept indoors, in the back, mindless
Of their fame, small fortune. “Come on. See you
At Leathoes’,” we said. “At Stevoes’.” And we did.
* * * *
They had their moment, these folk, unearned
...
In the street where I lived as a child
The occupants of houses next to the gas lamps
Lent them their names. So we’d meet
In the yellow circle of Leatherheads’,
Or race downhill to Stevensons’, sometimes make off
For Bowerses’. The fourth, higher, near the top
Was alien country, nameless. Those who gave
Their names were remembered when they’d
Flitted by conservative-minded boys; otherwise,
Apart from forays when we outshouted
Convenience, or mester was on shift work,
They kept indoors, in the back, mindless
Of their fame, small fortune. “Come on. See you
At Leathoes’,” we said. “At Stevoes’.” And we did.
* * * *
They had their moment, these folk, unearned
...
The page you have requested is restricted to subscribers only. Please enter your username and password and click on 'Continue'.
If you have forgotten your username and password, please enter the email address you used when you joined. Your login details will then be emailed to the address specified.
If you are not a subscriber and would like to enjoy the 286 issues containing over 11,500 poems, articles, reports, interviews and reviews, why not subscribe to the website today?
If you have forgotten your username and password, please enter the email address you used when you joined. Your login details will then be emailed to the address specified.
If you are not a subscriber and would like to enjoy the 286 issues containing over 11,500 poems, articles, reports, interviews and reviews, why not subscribe to the website today?