The trailer for the Bob Marley biopic finishes
and people down my cinema row start whispering
how they can’t believe it’s not been made before
and start listing people they think deserve
a biopic about them: Wayne Rooney, Jeff Bezos,
Beyonce, the Cat Bin Lady, Seal, that bloke
who shouted “Fenton” at his dog in Hyde Park.
I go to lean in and tell them the bloke
who shouted “Fenton” at his dog in Hyde Park
in fact did it in Richmond Park, but the empty seat
next to me whispers how doing so will give away
why I am in the cinema on my own.

Carl Burkitt 2024