"Just a normal fella, kept himself to himself. Shame really.."
Clock beeps
Time creeps
Spends his day in waking sleeps
Counting down the minutes til
He shuffles greyly down the hill
From one hell to another kind
The one he lives with in his mind
Bell dings
Seat springs
No more room, he stands and swings
Same old faces on the bus
Every one’s a them or us
Gets off early, saves the fare
Walks awhile to get some air
Hoodies wait
Tempts fate
The new estate is now a state
Every day he plays the game
Words and bottles hurt the same
Takes the stairs for haste not health
Dodge the piss and stones with stealth
Lock clicks
Door sticks
One more thing he needs to fix
Piles of flyers on the mat
Pizza this and curry that
Piling up since since ‘93
Been that way since he was we
Time creeps
Tea beeps
Micro-ready mush in heaps
Loaded high with excess salt
The heart attack will be her fault
Pots and pans lie cold and still
No use the oven, just the grill
No talk
One fork
Shovels sweet and sour pork
TV dinners, UK Gold
No hand but his own to hold
Every evening, same repeat
Viewed through holy-stockinged feet
Phone rings
Hope springs
Just a salesman selling things
Stabs the button, ends the call
Puts the phone back in the hall
Wonders what he has it for
But knows he has to know for sure
Tap drips
Dry lips
No more milk for PG Tips
Darkness now, he’s staying in
Reaches to the shelf for gin
Happiness in steady sips
Numbs the void and in he slips
Lights flash
Doors crash
Ten days later, in they dash
Door still sticks but no one cares
Neighbour in the hallway stares
A quiet fellow, never spoke
Just seemed like a normal bloke
