Bloody hell, just collect sticks mate.
Save them from the mud. Drag them
through coffee shops and supermarkets.
Pile them high in your porch; make it
difficult for anyone to find their shoes.
Give it some welly. Make your walks longer.
Don’t apologise. Get more sticks.
Make them dragons. Hug the dragons. Make them swords. Kill the dragons.
Throw them through the sun and yell
I AM STEVE BACKLEY.
Talk to your sticks, mate. Give them names.
Ask them what they’re working on. Ask them
how they’re doing, even when they look sad.

© Carl Burkitt 2022