Café Halal
One sip of Cabal brings the dead horses
shuffling, nose to nose, snorting in Turkish.
Thunder rattles the cup on its saucer,
then flies free: wings against sheer grey.
Immersed in debts, he’d sold them.
But to honour him, this last time
on a stormy night in Manchester,
clouds will slip open, let each steed
skeleton down heaven’s road and gallop
past appalled children. He’s an old Turk,
stuck on this street for twenty-six years,
only the gold of his tooth still dry,
unable to tell winners from losers.
Tapping it: a click, that horse is alive.
He sips. Lights a cigarette. One pat
on his pocket, a half-empty bottle.
Set off coughing, he fights for breath.
Time to run, if he’d the courage.
His cup’s steaming. It wafts hot and earthy.
Come - the old tongue - drop the nosebags.
Lift your heads and I’ll raise the stakes,
bet all our lives. Race for me again.
None can be apprentices on this terrain.
I like the sharpness of your white skulls.
Clatter the rust off your shoes. Show me
our true ancestry. Flesh less and slick,
gaping bony nostrils, I’ll urge you further
Take full strides, strike the concrete. Shins
and buttocks pound for beloved Turkey.
Clouds will towel your dry flanks lovingly.
Page(s) 42-43
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