David Burt - An Anatomy of Hallucination


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Poem


	IT SEEMS LIKE YESTERDAY
	Do you mind of the whitewashed houses, above the green, down by the quay .
	Do you mind of the games we played there in the long grass, way passed your knee.
	Do you mind of Brown the Park-keeper, with one arm and wooden leg, and the 'catties' that we used to make with bits of elastic and a peg, do you mind of the milk being measured with a ladle from a churn? Well remember to get the drinks in, because I think you've missed your turn.
	Do you mind of those dry toilets, whitewashed out to hide the grime, the seat it had two holes cut out, imagine, two at a time! The door, it never had a bolt on and your foot could never reach the door, so you'd whistle as you sat there and tap your feet on the stone floor. It was worse mind in the winter, you couldn't whistle because it was cold, do you really mind of all this? By God you're getting old.
	Do you mind of the squares of paper that hung on the toilet wall and when it came to your turn there was no paper left at all? You used to sit and shout for ages until someone recognised your plight, if there was nobody there to hear you, you could be sitting there all night.
	Do you mind of 'tettie' soup and dumplings cooked together in the same black pot? Are you sure mind of all this, you're an old one, are you not?
	Do you mind when you got your first bike? I got mine from Teddy Hall, I couldn't even ride a bike unless I kept one hand on the wall. Well of course man, Teddy had a junk shop about halfway down Park Road, he put blocks on both the pedals and said "You'll be alright when you've growed." I mind it had straight handlebars, no brakes, but it had a bell.
	What's that, a drink, I don't mind, er a pint of Muscatel. Well certainly it is a proper drink, it's a lovely warm red wine, no I do not want a cherry in it, but a bag of chips will go down fine. Yes, everyday was playtime, the beach, the Park, the Green, we rode imaginary horses that could be heard but were never seen. Yes we played down by the river on the staithes above the quay.
	If you can mind of all these things, well you'll be as old as me! Well mind you do not look that old what keeps your back so stright, tell me when you've had a few, are you up and down all night?
	It's easier now with toilets they are just in the room next door. No more cold linoleum, we've got carpets on our floor. We got toilet paper, rolls of it, hanging from a bracket coloured gold.
	Mind when I can no longer remember this, I'll know I'm getting old.
	It Seems Like Yesterday (Audio)

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