The Hoppings, Newcastle


Last night was the last: today
the lorries and dormobiles
are ready to go, the dodgems are stowed away,
dive bombers and ferris wheels
are packed as neat as biscuits. Jack the Ripper
is roping canvas, Dracula's Daughter brings
the baby's wind up, and the stripper
(naughty but nice) is clearing the breakfast things.


Where children play in the sun,
under the lights the servants of the Lord
advanced their placards against the Evil One;
they wake to Sunday, the promise of their reward
bright for another spell. But rich and poor
are points of refernce here, not body and soul:
loud engines jam the larksong over the moor,
and the big trailers roll.






Richard Kell