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Gareth Jones

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Protégé

I felt you there, as I drove through the dark,
ditching the car at the viaduct’s edge.
I opened the boot and took out my hold-all,
followed the path to that certain stretch.

All these years, I was learning your trade,
had my own 3 R’s: roads, rivers and railways.
Pondering each from the height of bridges,
I assumed my birthright, your legacy.

A time for prayer. I did not pray,
but smoked a final Marlboro Light;
discarded a pair of shoes from the bag,
slipped off my coat and out of my life.

Unscathed, I went one better than you,
fading quietly out of view.

Gareth Jones was born in London in 1978 and spent several years living in Wigan before returning to the capital this year to start a career in PR. He recently graduated with an MA in Creative Writing. His poems have appeared in several publications in the UK, most recently in SEAM.

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