Hats Off

I.

With the wind in your ear like an
ivory crack,

you throw yourself
bodily

from a Belgrave hotel
balcony

You throw yourself to all the
girls

who lead you there, to all the great
demanders,

pretty as the hawkish fan, but not so
light.

No, not so light,

you ask
just this of Seaside City:

.

Hats
off, harlots and charlatans
Remove your noble bottletops

Hurl out no more gestures, expressions
Let us see
the winged monstrosities
whose slits peer wild from beneath
pert brims

.

And no Earl Grey this morning,
thank you

II.

Blow out your
matches, put your John Players back,

Put your damn
newspapers down,

England, throw down your
spitfires,

Abandon your French
breakfast

Hats off, ramparts and
mannequins,

Gamesters,
quacksalvers

Let us learn to love your
disfigurements

Uncatalogue each mole and every
hump

Let them speak for
themselves

Strip away the
orchestra

Tear cellos down

Tear
codebooks up

.

And no Earl Grey
this morning, thank you

III.

Sand
in your Brogues and a kiss off the black,

Do not
dream of the future,

Do not lie on deckchairs, with
ice cream

dripping on reams of hateful plans for your
body,

with your tactics for cricket, with
horoscopes.

Blackpool beach was made for
more

Turn your ravens
loose

.

Do not let the salesmen in
your peaked helmets

oil their palms in
glee

Do not be seduced by some supreme
order

when you get the uniform

and
I get the star

Do not be so fat and flabby in your
bikini

.

And no Earl Grey this
morning, thank you

And don't forget the
digitalis

IV.

Like the screw on the
white that scatters the pack

I'm delivered by a
master's stroke

And now with my cannonball I want
you

Now with my death roll, now
falling

into your cuffed arms,

I
ransack your coats for trinkets of shame

And as I
sink, and as hats sail above the stand

Forgive
me!

Forgive me if at last

I shiver
with delight