Poetry Magazines - The best collection of poetry magazines online - Simon Armitage

Poetry Library Southbank Centre - The Poetry Library housing the Arts Council Collection at Southbank Centre

« Previous item
Contents of this issue
Next item »

W.E. Holloway

print this page

Bad News Break

Death came to Little Winning yesterday,
and when he went away again, he took
three men, a boy and a dog with him,
the reporter on Radio Jonathan said.

And the dog’s name was Peter. Because
Father would not let me call him
Mephistopheles, or The Wee Black Bugger,
which is what Uncle Joe called him.

You shouldn’t believe all you hear
on the Radio, Uncle Joe used to say.
And that is true. Because it wasn’t Death
who came to Green Beeches, it was Mr. Smith —

The vet. And it wasn’t Death, or the vet
who took Peter away. It was Uncle Joe.
And it wasn’t Death, it was A.S. & B.C.
Clarkson who took Uncle Joe away.

I don’t know who took away the brothers,
but it probably wasn’t Death, and their name
was Champion, not Jones. I heard them — they had
the window down. And it wasn’t a plough.

I will miss Uncle Joe. I wanted to ask him why
he said he was taking Peter for a walk. And Father
will not say why there were breathing holes
in Peter’s box, and not in Uncle Joe’s,

or who the boy was.
 

Page(s) 37

Back to top