done ma weekly shop down the co-op, handed over me plastic divi card. co-ops shutting for refurbishment, whole ov the north is. at the door theyre collecting second-hand shoes for charity. reach down - un-velcro mine bought cheap down market - hand ‘em in - walk out barefoot. got taken to hospital, i been going a little ... yu know? wheres your shoes they say. where your shoes? dont want south: mistake, that. moving on? are yu? thinking ov? am i? need this cool-chord place aching with clarity ov voices to still ma mind. needing rhythms ov north, to hear ma music, feel that beat, find it ... again. been listening to a lot ov sibelius lately. legends are key to his work. north-myths, mythology. stories ov home & land not‘homeland’ / ‘security’. theres a road past ma door. i’m barefoot. re-writing. hearing his 7th symphony. an arc. an arch. a bridge. a span. a single-span. followed by 25 year ov silence. know how he feels. i know how he feels

54 degrees, 39 minutes north        (workington)

looking for a good time. looking for time. looking. wheres the sea? beyond corus, beyond the cemetery, beyond gulag housing, irish seas a string ov fairy-lights. we are outside the fallout zone / within polluted waters. solway fisheries serves a chip & curry sauce lifesaver. the miners arms, drink deep & ... & back to the centre, the curwen arms, & by now theyre trying to kick us out; theyre having little luck. our debates on who owns language - been running for years, a thousand at least. outside, temperature drops, pull down ma red eye hat, flames leap to top ma skull