but Nottingham has a café
to wait in when you miss your train
and has a fake fireplace and a freezer
with no ice creams in it
and a broken card payment system
and a pinball machine called Rainbow’s Gold
that is plastered with cartoon lucky charms
and sets off the room’s security alarm
when you accidentally knock it
with your elbow and the noise
startles a woman with hair like Grandma
who drops her hot chocolate over the legs
of her son wearing Leicester City shorts.

© Carl Burkitt 2022