BHP
You’re in a tough spot
I try to stand near you
In solidarity of a sort
I cannot experience your anxiety
But I know how you feel
I always know how you feel
You are that rare breed
A huge heart for youth
Those bundles of energy and hurt, left dangling
Look at the upstream, not the downstream
Everyone is fighting a battle we do not understand
Growth does not reside in a place called comfortable
This wisdom has been carved
From Lancashire terraces and East London tower blocks
The backstreets of heaven
From midnight clubs to a multi-storey YMCA
To chaotic canvas cities packed to the rafters
Where trifle trickles down your neck
The land of the blob
Where gutter feelings are shared, always shared
Through unique fingertip touching
Your accent makes me smile
Just down the road from me, but so different
The land of pies and refracted glass
Rugby league, not football
I can forgive you that
At least we like the same band
In our café liaisons
You are constantly connecting
With staff, with strangers
Your gift of making someone feel
They are being listened to
Perhaps for the first time
The most beautiful flower
Is the one that pops up through a crack
In the concrete
That’s you in a nutshell
Peter Barrett
