Sierra Leone, Elephant and Castle
We sit
Chicken and chips
Ketchup, mayonaise
Interspersing our talks of Winnie M, your mother and mine
With pound coins dished out for egg machines
Little people running in and out
To the fruit stall, colours brilliant and beyond beauty under the strip lights, across from Tesco
We drink
Coffee, warm milk, sugar
You speak
Jolting stories of escape and hands chopped off
Miracles and coincidences that keep you alive
In Sierra Leone
I nod, dumb tongued, numb, stupid
In between small talk, school run, baby feeding
You speak
Of rape as a passing occurence in this flight
(Our children play in between the legs of shoppers, shrieking with delight)
Security guards give disapproving glances at the mess we will leave
But this narrative is urgent
Meantime, migrant workers blast out bollywood hits and the black eyed peas
We dance, as you do,
In Elephant & Castle
Time passes and we go via the subways
Heading home
