Was it that third or fourth night, Sarah
during that month we lived in Hove 
when my agent paid for us both
to move there temporary, 
that second summer we were together
and we stumbled onto that singer 
playing alone beside the coastline
at the start of dusk. 

Do you remember him asking, Sarah
pausing inbetween songs 
can either of us play an autoharp 
or a mandolin 
at the edge of the beach 
a cup of hot chocolate
barely keeping 
his aged fingers warm. 

I’d grew up watching it like you
although I couldn’t begin 
to name any of the songs 
he played one after the other 
rather the names of Bagpuss’s friends
from Professor Yaffle to 
The mice on the mouse-organ
to Gabriel the toad and Madeleine .

I see the singers face even now
haromnica in his mouth
playing a melody of Song of the Flea
and Charliemouse Weaving
before eventually finishing with
the bony king of nowhere 
opening up the curtain 
to a unexpected love. 

You didn’t get it I should have seen
in the ash-coloured light
finding the nostaliga too strange
pausing for a few minutes 
as if it listening to something else 
before hurrying on as before
underlining the differences to us both
that I only realised after you had gone. 

(A new poem from a up coming book I am working on called 'Changing Carriages at Birmingham New Street' which is a story of poetic letters told between a couple while travelling up and down England).

(Don't forgot also my latest poetry book 'Underground Haiku' is now available on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Haiku-Underground-Journeys-underground-ebook/dp/B08YHLGZ9K/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3N1M3K0TR2RUL&dchild=1&keywords=andy+n+underground+haiku&qid=1616326417&sprefix=Andy+N+Under%2Caps%2C223&sr=8-1) 

(I'm also doing NaPoWriMo - National Poetry Writing Month on my usual blog - http://onewriterandhispc.blogspot.com/ - anybody else doing it, let me know and I'll try to make sure I support them as much as possible)