you sit there among the insurance salesmen
the assistant manager of dorothy perkins
a vivisectionist with an interest in eyes
roadsweepers dinner-ladies ex-cons
night club singers lots of hairdressers
and other detritus
    as they do the small talk
of holidays kids houses house prices

and you think
here's another american import
they should have kept to 'emself

 in she walks
 of course having tumbled her
 there's a sneer

but she always reminded you of joni mitchell
just that bit too perfect
 one internal rhyme too many

 and she's with some bald bloke
 and you can't work out
 if it's her money or his who has paid for her tan

 but it don't matter -
he can be as rich as croesus
but his laywers ain't gunna alter the facts

that you stick one on her

rather like whoever threw the bottle at joni mitchell
on the isle of wight

 though at rather closer range