fish and chip papers and stained smelly sweaters

dirty used condoms, the posh man’s French letters

fresh fast food cartons and old condom packets

discarded pizzas and broken squash racquets

matches, match boxes and cigarette butts,

oodles of noodles from someone’s spilt guts

ring pulls and beer cans, sharp broken glass

empty pill sachets and a lost covid mask

unwanted pennies and bust burner phones

bits and odd pieces from cars, bikes and drones

lost keys and IDs from the weekend campaigns

stale kebab vomit and fresh urine stains

syringes discarded despite heath concerns

accumulated silt with survivalist worms

shopping lists, shopping bags, shopping receipts

bits of upholstery from numerous seats

plastic bags, handbags, a stiletto shoe

damp vacant fireworks, a dead pigeon too

dirty stained underpants, cast away thongs

yesterday’s papers, old cannabis bongs

hair bands, extensions, the occasional toupee

cheap plastic flowers and a rotting bouquet

poo bags and glue bags and hard chewing gum

a near empty bottle of cheap Asda rum

apple stumps, orange peel, infrequent figs

grocery remnants and foliage and twigs

an unwanted rose from a useless boyfriend

who tried but he failed and was dumped in the end

an overdue bill with a final reminder

a digital camera with a broken viewfinder                    

a Polaroid photo with vital parts missing

a large solid gob, the result of vile spitting

a trashed vaping remnant with its battery leaking

old contact cards with their status still seeking

a sanitary towel, a disposable nappy

all kinds of gimmicks, cheap, crude and tacky

a filthy nude Barbie and a mouldy carnation

an old sinful Sindy, Barb’s poor relation

once either’s mouth would have not melted butter

now rather sadly they’re down in the gutter

 

busy main roads like the A49

the side of the track on the loud railway line

the infirmary frontage and the plantation gates

ginnels, back alleys and industrial estates

town centre shrubberies, urban green spaces

car parks and pavements and local workplaces

dark cul-de-sacs and genteel leafy crescents

quiet country roads with their resident pheasants

Wigan’s canals and the Douglas too

the sanitised hard floors of each public loo

the threshold of pubs at the end of the day

playgrounds and parks where the young children play

places where idle gits make their decision

scattered a short step from any provision

a metre away from the smart council bins…

is where you can see my un-favourite things