MEMORY LANE
I was taking a stroll down memory lane
3 and 4 bed detached houses singing in silence
Taking a sharp right at the newsagent
I stood outside the British Legion,
struggling for breath,
clutching my chest with heart pain,
Familiar faces stared out of window panes twitching the curtains
I got to number 17 and tripped up,
falling face down in to the gutter
Regaining my composure I rolled over
Stood up and found myself in the middle of the road,
thinking that I was heading in the right direction
but really not knowing where to go.
If I stayed where I was I knew I'd be in trouble
Reluctantly I dragged my feet
and scuffed back towards the pavement
Carrying on walking past a School on the right,
not giving that school a second look as it disappeared out of sight.
My journey took me to the job center,
where I caught myself starring at my reflection in the window
The air felt humid
Inside my belly I sensed a storm was brewing
This was confirmed when i heard the squawk of a few seagulls flying above
If a seagull is 25 miles in land,
Mum always said that must mean there is a storm at sea
With a sense of urgency I quickened my pace
My foot steps rapidly tapping about 170 beats per minute
I remember passing a large house
With some exotic plants in the front garden
resembling a jungle,
overhanging a garage,
which had a large union jack sticker on the door
Behind the garage I could see into the garden where a minute football goal stood as the center piece
Lurking at the back in the shadows was a shed
I was pretty sure smoke was coming out from under the door.
I looked down at my feet
I noticed I was wearing a box fresh pair of Nikes
On closer examination I saw they were made of plastic
in fact,
all the clothes I was wearing,
which all happened to be brand new,
were made of plastic.
I put that observation to the back of my mind,
and carried on walking,
almost tripping over,
a dusty carpet casually discarded on the pavement.
I passed a red letter box,
as a police patrol car passed me,
the house on my right had an unkept front garden full of weeds,
the smell was strong.
I was beginning to become frustrated.
Stopping at a bustop I Looked at the timetable,
all the bus routes went round in circles.
The haze in the air was partly obscuring my vision.
The humidity was giving me a headache
Out of the blur a pub came into my focus
A Large grubby white St Georges Cross sat isolated on the roof
I popped inside and bought myself a watered down pint of gassy larger
In every corner of the pub big screens were showing boxing
Each telly screening a different fight
I finished my pint
wiping my lips with the back of my hands,
Stepped outside,
then inside
the conveniently placed kebab shop next door
Ordering a large donner and chips
I repeated that process several times.
A Ford Escort van stood parked on the side of the road
Again I checked my reflection
again I was wearing a brand new set of clothes
again I was wearing box fresh trainers this time they were Adidas
again,
they were all made of plastic
I continued on with my journey,
passing another red letter box
A parade of shops came up with on the left.
Next to the dream bed superstore
was a stationary shop full of posters saying "we sell Bic Biro’s"
A lone cash machine was blinking at me on the end of the parade.
The pace of my feet had dropped from a swift 170 beat
to approximately 140 beats per minute
walking at a half step
The seagulls from earlier had disappeared
I assumed they'd left me and gone back to the sea
The storm must have passed through I still had the feeling in my belly
The architecture of the buildings began to change
Semi-detached and detached houses
had been replaced with high rise tower blocks and housing estates.
I saw another red letter box
I had on another new pair of plastic trainers
A brand new set of plastic clothes
Sensing something wasn’t right I quickened my pace
My walk turned to a run,
then a sprint
until another red letter box stood in my way
Tripping me up
Falling flat on my face
I got up,
dusted myself off
Checked my reflection in the reception of a smart glass paneled
office block
This time my clothes were plain and simple
I felt I had renewed energy so i resumed my walk
Until i came across a dead end
I looked too my right,
a no through road
to my left,
road works,
with a sign saying road closed.
This was the fifth dead end I'd come across that day.
I turned round to go back the way I came
What stood in front of me was not memory lane
but mum and dad's house
I sat on the back door step and listened to the sound of thunder lightening and rain.
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