Pete Shelley

and Mark Hollis

from Leigh

and Tottenham

the very best of England

die in their early 60s

older than me

I looked up to them

especially when I was a youth

aware that they too were young

a little like elder brothers

I never had

lost in their post-rock sounds

making me meander

in fever contemplation

and fervid word formation

I accept

it’s OK to cry

it’s OK for your upper body

to quiver and convulse

it’s OK to feel

it’s OK

it’s OK

to be you

accept the gift

the warrior puts on his socks

in the hushed pre-dawn camp

he’s unable to see what he’s doing

turns out he wore odd socks

when joining the field of battle

when they stretchered his body away

with all the others

I accept the gift