the tinsel toil's over, the crêpe-paper slavery
finally finishes this afternoon
in a flourish of feathers
a swarm of kazoos
with helium-hearted balloons and bunting
the lorries are shunting a stop-go shuffle
that concertinas the pleated skirts
and the tag-along dogs
a truck is delivering unlive music
apt as a poser's flash-car disco
trapped in a traffic jam
thumping the air
fairy-tale royalty floats down the High Street
the schoolgirls are flushed
by the sun and the foot-work
the buckets of charity rattle along
it was raining last year so the queen abdicated
the new one is fêted by somebody's dad
with a hot-dog salute
and a beer-bottle toast.
© Paul Taylor 2001