My backpack is carrying a box of pick and mix
bought using my £5.00 Christmas Woolworths
voucher from Uncle Norman. I used the technique
passed down to me from my brother:
a layer of foam sweets, a layer of bon bons,
a layer of foam sweets, a layer of boiled sweets,
a layer of foam sweets, and so on to maximise
the tub’s airspace. The lady on the till
used a bit of sticky tape to keep the lid down.
I’m walking to the newly opened Swindon Subway
to buy a bacon footlong on Italian herb bread
and I’m probably going to buy American Pie on DVD.
The sun is shining because this is a fictional memory,
which means Alicia fancies me and I’m not going to
lose the hurdles final. I’m still too scared to try
skateboarding, but I’m head to toe in Vans and Tony
Hawk is waiting for me to get the number 1 bus home.

Carl Burkitt 2024

Written while listening to ‘The Middle’ by Jimmy Eat World.