A woolly mammoth charges into Cheadle Hulme
Costa Coffee and whacks a few cheese sandwiches
across the cafe before they had the chance
to become toasties. It plunges a tusk
into a triple chocolate muffin
and the other one into the barnet of a bloke
pretending to write a novel. A queue of customers
start running towards the exit and the staff
apologise profusely. A lady near the back of the room
doesn’t flinch. She sips her decaf latte
and gestures to the empty seat beside her
with an open palm. The mammoth drops its trunk
onto her table and slaps her lemon drizzle cake
off its plate. The mammoth growls and the lady
gives it the space to keep growling
until it’s ready to join her in a game of Code Words.

Carl Burkitt 2024

Written while listening to ‘Send Me On My Way’ by Rusted Root.