on the Other Side of the
A SUDDEN CURATIVE
My instant curative for Dr. Brian Hinton,
fresh from cardiology and plastic piping
flowing in and out of his throat and
other orifices was to detail recent items
purchased for fifty pence each at the Dorset
Bookshop in Blandford. Keith Sagar's Life
and Art of D.H. Lawrence, the 10,000 Maniacs
MTV Live Unplugged on cassette,
Tom Waits's My Blue Valentine, Joni
Mitchell's Mingus, Neil Young's triple
album Decade, a double Tom Waits
Live, Sandy Denny's second album on vinyl.
By this time I could sense frustration,
curled lips, panic-induced anxiety,
some element of a man turning
over a new leaf or at least of
a man trying to usurp a memory
of a better day, a better time, when
he could walk and grab bargains,
haggle for greater deals.
His tongue was literally torn
with envy and hoots of irony
as I mentioned Dylan's Desire,
Davis's A Kind Of Blue.
Stop, he said, I can't take any more.
If I laugh much more I will be rushed back.
No, buy them all for me and I'll
pay you 50p each for your trouble.
© Copyright David Caddy 2002