Almanac Poetry: ‘Women Screaming Like Crows’ – Tommy Mallet

 

 

Women Screaming Like Crows

 

 

It’s around 3am.

Down on the street women scream like crows.

“WRAR! WRAR!”

 

Drunk, I pull the curtain to watch

boys and men

kicking each other around the mouth of a lane

that wants to both swallow and spit

them out.

Sweat, blood and alcohol

heave across its rim, this way, then that,

in working-class ballet.

 

I linger a while,

small-time barracking,

not giving a damn.

It will be repeated tomorrow,

and the night after

and has for all time.

 

Looking hard enough, I see myself down there,

once or twice.

 

If I squint, I can see the street

when it was dust,

and before that, bush,

wallabies fighting for turf.

 

“WRAR! WRAR!”

Soon enough the sound of crowing women

puts me to sleep.

 

 

 

More poetry from Tommy Mallet can be read Here.

 

More poetry from Almanac Poetry can be read HERE

 

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