from
Blizzard
5
Something was wrong with the weathergirl's
smile. Now let's take a look at the chart
for mid-day tomorrow, and it tells
the same story. If you're going out
wrap up, watch out for those hazardous
driving conditions. The smile. That's it
from me, a very good night. Nervous.
The children were shouting in the park.
The sound was pitched on the edge of song,
half-curdled into laughter, a shock
to the suburban air that seemed long
gone a moment after I'd heard it.
Some quality of snow, something wrong
with my ears? You nerd, Kev. You're dead meat.
10
It got into the television.
There was always a loud fuzz between
Michael Buerk and yourself. Chaos on
The Late Show, hands waving, Tom Paulin
shouting against the wind. Then a blank.
Then a palm-tree island on the screen,
streaked with unlikely yellow, blue, pink.
So we all turned to each other, not
knowing who else to believe. They said
it was just a blip in the climate,
a volcano, global warming, God.
It had snowed in Zaïre. The North Sea
was frozen. Already the wolves had
crossed to Scotland. They were on their way.
13
Da da DADA da da DA da. Swit.
Swirlywhoop. And the whurble will pfee
wub wub wub. Number wub in the chart.
Da da DADA de toute façon schwee
woo ah bien d'accord when I'm feeling
woo oo oo oo oo oo ooh. Jetzt sie
witzg einig. Wump. Getting anything?
The friends we shared our homes with have gone.
Wrapped in blankets in the dark, we still
hoped to hear the heating coming on
or that the blipping numbers would tell
our time for us. The last voice to go,
after the TV, was that sad call
of a trumpet on the radio.
16
Once there was a fire and people sat
in the lap of it. Once mothers held
children between their knees. Once the fat
of a joint of mutton spat and squealed
and soot and snow scrapped in the chimney.
Once there were cats and the shadows growled.
Once or twice someone told a story.
I went to piss in the snow outside
and when I came back in she was there
in the hall. She took my hand and said
upstairs. It was freezing in the bare
darkness. I held her breasts sculpted from
gooseflesh. Just as I came inside her
the streetlamp flashed once. Upon a time.
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