Unemployed days in Sheffield
Too old and too educated
I flop onto the sandy bed
rejected by the sea
Going to Netto for cheap beans
and eggs
A reliable act
The crazies haunt the streets
like the screaming sunlight
Unfettered by window and shape
The crazies greet me,
Asking for pennies.
The 'Penny for the Guy' child
relentless in request
Of pennies
Ashamed
'Don't you have a job?'
Autumn is here
Once in, every now and then
I stare into the receiver
I want it to ring, bearing good news.
I phone them up
The job people, the agencies
Where have you been
What do you want
What can you do
Why are you old
Why are you calling
I must get a job to escape this hell
The child will keep asking me for pennies
The crazies too
I don't want to be
Amongst them
Another day
I look into the mirror and grin
