when Sharon hacked her hunter down
so Kaz could teach Pete how to rise to the trot
said Just like shagging against a wall

when Old Mac boasted You never forget
jumped on poor Lennie’s new Yamaha
and smashed up the outside lav

when we wound Dave up it was fancy dress
and he came as a tart all the way on the bus

when Garvey actually bought a round
and all of us asked for shorts

when Suzie danced on the table
and didn’t fall off

when Mick hollered out to come outside
because of the evening star
hung like a lamp in the turquoise sky
and the air was warm past ten o’clock
so we all sat drinking thigh by thigh
watching the dark slide over the fields

that night when we were all loved up
played Mustang Sally eleven times
everyone everyone everyone danced

then Sharon led her hunter home
because she couldn’t get on his back
and somebody nicked the fag machine

That night was a prize-winning runner-up for the Troubadour International Poetry Prize 2012