Indoor Rain, Lyon, 1986

That walk-in music,
‘The Boys of Summer’,
Amplified high, over
Stacked bullets and bins,

As hundreds of punters,
Surged a screamed age,
Ran to the egos (still,
Couch-slumped off-stage).

I stared at that girl,
The Waterboys’ tech,
Then failed to sing
My simple motet:

Backstage, a caravan,
A view of the tour,
Headline act echo, her
un-asked encore.

Later, thin clouds,
Perched high in the roof,
Cooled in the stadium,
Rain-dropped reprove:

The water girl gone,
Just me, salt-dripped;
The get-out, worked hard,
I left Lyon, ungripped.