Black Atlas

He’s a black man

no, I mean very very black

his hat is black too

and his baggage

an overloaded supermarket trolley

lashed down with a black tarp.

He lives rough near Sainsbury’s

never seen without their trolley

which he pushes up and down the hill

like a Black Atlas holding up the sky

doomed to eternity, straining, straining!

Sometimes,

he’s bent over, asleep outside

other times

he’s inside near the photo booth

just getting a warm,

never begging,

just up and down, up and down

a Black Atlas

doomed to eternity

 

© Graham Sherwood 12/2018

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