Act One
In the footprints of Mandela
On the ladders of the King
...
A cigarette end was thrown from a car window
It smouldered brightly in the road
Another car sped past giving an aura of headlight
Stealing it from the hands of the night
...
our great city: magnet dusty
microcosm of worlds expansive
cultures meeting, lovers mating
in its hold of nerves ecstatic
...
She builds her pleasant garden
Where the winds are not so strong
The sun sometimes relenting
Becomes her companion
...
I saw Leonard Cohen on TV
slightly stooped, shining white hair
dinner jacket, black bow tie
...
So Hitler came to power
75 years ago today
so what of it, really?
...
As it happens, I suppose
I am not gay, if it matters at all
And hold almost secret and certainly close
Each memory of you - knowing some
...
I saw a shooting star, a falling star tonight
All green and gold, a peacock tail
(Perhaps it was a satellite)
Anyway it made a sign
...
A slim boy wearing summer clothes
Bare feet like cat's paws on the paving stones
Steps around last night's broken glass
Guitar in hand, heading for the busking site
...