Martin Booth
The Journey
Under the stone arch he looks up
the collonades are grey the flag-
stones are grey
the very essence of stone is
sombre
outside each stone of spanwork
the sky is joyous blue
on which no white clouds balance
from the doorway he looks into
the room
the lintel is of grey stone
with a groove cut by feet
in the centre
through the smooth groove a fine
trickle of blood
ekes onto the pavement
the blood is too red
all the stone is grey
passing through the eye of a needle
he balances in the eye his crutch
sore on the metal
his legs astride the eye of the needle
behind him a blank stone wall is grey
before him a wall is smeared with
grey mould
he touches his cheek and a wet spot
appears on his hand
on his grey hand of illness
there is a wet spot of red blood
he passes on
his journey takes him through the
moth’s eye
the mouth of the ant the gut of the worm
that is grey in the dank earth
the scale of fishes that are grey
in the deep water
the journey continues through all
entrances channels tunnels orifices and ducts
everything is continually grey
he can appreciate this
he cannot reason with the blue
cloudless sky
he cannot recognise the blood’s redness.
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