The Friday Poem on 12/05/23
We chose ‘we hope to have sand in our shoes’ by Rose Rouse to be our Friday Poem this week because we love its confidence and dazzle. The poem is an image-rich collage, vibrant, contemporary and fun, with a sense of foreboding threading through it. It says something about what it means to be “seaside british”– despite all the glitter and sparkle and buzz there’s a storm on the horizon. Spectactular.
we hope to have sand in our shoes
my friend’s crystal-studded sunglasses match the station
pan-asian cafés and tattoo parlours have moved
into public houses
this brutalist monster sparkles 1960s utopian flint
middle-class creatives lap them up now
ms tracey has transmogrified an old stables block
a series of intentional ghost signage ensues
laundrette circa 1980 over the vintage clothes pop up
midland bank still bold over book bank
woolworths ah woolworths has gone art college
a crazy daisy mash-up
of what it means to be seaside british
turner smashed expectations of light
local artist paints refugees falling out of boats
dreamland started life as a cinema
sonia boyce is crashing the waves
we stand on the blustery yellow beach
arms outstretched towards the storm
