Advent

Stood
waiting for a block of public
cash on wheels
to come
and drift me home
to bumpily bring me back
to a warm flat

Feet
like blocks of ice
can’t see ‘owt
but black n' mist before my eyes
and difficult long words
tug my neck hairs

A girl I know
said last night
the only thing she’s looking forward to
tomorrow
is opening a new door
on her advent calendar
- because it’s a chocolate one

She’s thrity nine
and
works in an office
in southern England

I might be cold,
slightly lost,
helpless
beneath an unforgiving foreign sky
but I’m grateful

Grateful
I’m not in that office
with her
anymore

I said I would
and I went
left
out of sight and beyond
reach
far from the underwhelming perks
to pass
stagnant time

No offence to the calendar though
chocolate ones are the best