Grimbeau

Al Boley

fills gas

lamp mantle

a tin, eerie

bacolite mantle,

Woodbine romance

Shall we dance?

Syncopated Agatha;

Anglepoise, equipose,

Lachrymose quaques.

Crackle and ivory,

drum brush, Dapper Dan,

tuxedo, savoy, suave, class, pure class, lush…

rubber corsets on flaccid flappers,

inner tube condoms,

PJ Perelman, art deco, echo chamber

commemorations, abdications, league of nations,

pylon poets, silver screens, Teruel,

Abyssinia, King Zog, King Kong,

concierge, demi-urge, debutantes, ants-in-pants…

Popular Fronts, Fascist Cunts, Micky Mouse,

The uniformed doorman at the Picture House

Primo Carnero, Bonnie, Clyde, Lassie

Armstrong Siddeley, broken chassis

Spikes, louses, blouses, dames in trousers

Pathe  Newsreels, nudists, sandalled Buddhists,

Caddying for Tony Locke, spats, Schneider Trophy

No nightingales in Berkeley Square, just martingales,