The judges were Valerie Grove and Hugo Williams
Jessica Thomas
The High Street
I turn my MP3 player up to
Try and drown out the sound of
Boys thumping against the bus windows
Bags of the many people –
Like immigrants on a journey to a new life –
Bash against my arm
I’m going to have a bruise there tomorrow
I feel the bus cough and splutter into life
Crisp packets and McDonald’s wrappers
Scatter just as their owners do
As the bus wheels rumble over the cracked black
tarmac
Through the window I can see
The takeaway shops and fast food
And/or Indian restaurants
One café, two café and half a dozen high-fashion
clothes shops
With frantic shoppers darting in-and-out
In the distance I can see the ruins of a great castle
A once proud protector rising from the ground
As a monument to preserve acts
Of sacrifice and bravery
Surrounded by beauty and ignorance
Litter and heroism
It’s going to be a long journey home.
© Jessica Thomas, 2007
