Therefore he no more troubled the pool of silence
But put on mask and cloak,
Strung a guitar
And moved among the folk.
Dancing they cried,
'Ah, how our sober islands
Are gay again, since this blind lyrical tramp
Invaded the Fair.'

Under the last dead lamp
When all the dancers and masks had gone inside
His cold stare
Returned to its true task, the interrogation of silence.

© GMB 1971 

First published in 1971 by Richard Gilbertson, Bow Crediton, limited edition of 100 copies.
Published later in various collections.












Published 2001 in
Poems on the Underground
Cassell & Co.