o2 Academy

Somewhere, in the annals of time, am I

still dancing at a Zane Lowe disco?

I might wear skinny jeans tonight

I could dye my hair an unnatural bright

but you wouldn’t be fooled if I stopped by

the Student Union, or Brixton,

joined the 2999

who might be dancing, in their own time

to some band I may or may not like –

but they’re not mine.

I could stay in Birmingham all night

with my petrol-kohl rimmed eyes

and think, these kids weren’t even alive when I thrived –

about how they’re making new good times

they might remember all their lives

like I can recall some random night

in about 2009

and I wouldn’t go back

and it wouldn’t be fun to dress outmoded, shots keep flowing,

gather up the friends who I used to know, pull the focus,

but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t fun then,

or that I don’t miss who I was

and mourn the loss of something gone

that lives on, only in my mind,

and remember her, sometimes.

This short poem was written as part of the ‘Alphabet Superset‘ programme: it is quick work and is unedited.