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
