The Journey – Julian Stannard

The George Crabbe Memorial Poetry Competition
1998 Crabbe Memorial Competition – First Prize
Adjudicators: Martyn Crucefix and Judith Kazantzis

Imagine esplanades of steps
that carve their way through

the midriffs of an edifice
Imagine yourself taking

that route into the viscera
of a lungless palace

You come to these glassy steps
on a daily basis

which take you surely to a desk
and worse much worse

But between the security man
who wants to ruin you

and the surveillant
who has taken account

of your usefulness
there are exactly 90 seconds

of windowless ascent
in which you are beholden

to nothing other than
the patina of dust

you scatter into every corner
but slowly, slowly

Copyright © Julian Stannard 1998


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