shashasha

I’d often look up at the sky in Britain.
There were layers of white contrails set against pale blue evening sky, sharply contrasting the orange lights in homes.

I’d frequently see the English in queues.
They’d gather in public and have conversation rich in wit and spiked with irony.

The unsuccessful painter painted another picture today.
The photo processing lab in town disappeared.
In the sun in front of a wall slowly dirtied on Kingsland Road,
People crowded around the bus stop again today.
The old man at the kebab shop will probably recommend I put malt vinegar on my chips again.
Will the #38 bus driver be playing Bob Marley on the harmonica today too?

Remembering deep in my eyes, the light that poured out of council flat windows,
And feeling grateful to the key workers,
Today again I think of confusion and peace in Britain.

― Koomi Kim, March 2021