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

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Oliver Comins

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Rhododendrons In The Rain

It happens in the afternoon, like someone
practising on an out-of-tune piano; his skin
still dry from so much washing up, so many
plates and glasses to be polished, so much
ironing of other people’s weeds - the day
retreats to voices on a radio as people
gather in a tea room with a palm court trio
waiting in the corner and time on tenterhooks.

A rustle of brocade, the moment when nothing
can stop it happening - he takes an extra
lump of sugar, holds it melting in a spoon
above the tea - a tiny curl of steam will rise
from this, the best of the infusion, before
he hears an Indian silence beckon and feels
the puff of tropic heat across his cheek.
The music starts on cue, a sparse adagio.

It was a summer night, he heard the fountain
sing and her slight cough before she spoke,
then saw her throat begin to move, the lips
begin to part on words he’d barely hear.
The waitress brings a plate of sandwiches;
he watches children playing in the rain -
their bright anoraks and boots stand out
against the bank of autumn rhododendrons.

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