Table 9
Table 9 in The Kanteen
Frankie the boxer
shows his teeth and doesn't mean it
Toasted kofta baguette,
carrot cake & a pot of tea
opposite The Greenhouse
Drops of rain, faster now
on the water feature
You can't judge by experiences
What is there, here? she says,
I know what there used to be
A man carrying pink
carnations in a black plastic bucket
on the spiral staircase
It used to be the Custard Factory / I know
and just a short walk away
the angel suspended life-size
floating feet down above the flowers
a star in both hands
Cliff Yates' latest collection is Jam (Smith/Doorstop). Previous collections include Henry's Clock and Frank Freeman's Dancing School (Salt Publishing; KFS). He has been the winner of the Aldeburgh First Collection Prize and the Poetry Business Competition. This poem is from a forthcoming pamphlet with Knives Forks & Spoons Press.