Which is what ultimately proved
That you had nothing
To do with this (the drowning) (A -- B) [i]
I went all the way round in search of the path [ii]
My bike on my shoulder like a Prada bag [iii]
It has gears and brakes [iv] which is how I can
Tell I stay in control 9 times out of 10 [v]
A taxi rolled down its windows at the traffic lights
Said it’s too deep to swim I’ll take my chances tonight
He corrected my English I said I’m trying my best
Light changed to amber I said thank you and left
I came because you said it’s your favourite location
Though it recently fell somewhat out of your favour
Someone bought out this land and put a fence all around [vi]
I bit my tongue and threw my bike over the wall to get down
The taxi driver told me to look out for a spot
Where packs of local lads go to drink and smoke pot
I was deep in the forest when I heard someone speak
They couldn’t see me yet so I threw a long stick
[vii]
I was bruised when they found me I think I looked kind of funny
I had a bad shaving rash and a problem with boundaries
An illusion of distance all the bodies seemed bigger
Even than the estates a mere mile from here
[viii]
The birds seemed tiny at first I haven’t eaten for days
My neck sore from the choke holds I could not look away [ix]
They tried to pin it on you because of the post-mortem
But I got here myself just to stave off the boredom
I kept pronouncing things wrong I came too close to the nest
The ducks pecked me and pecked me they were pure relentless
I can’t run in high heels you said these are just platforms [x]
One look into your mouth and I lost my own passport [xi]
I wore these bruises like jewels they were weighing me down
By that time you got bored turned to rainclouds [xii] and scrammed
The police van was parked by the old concrete bridge
I was busy imagining what it’d be like to have your kids
[i] In these endnotes, A and B refer to the two characters.
[ii] Walking all the way around this rather large reservoir would take about an hour.
[iii] “and she suddenly looks like she’s shot through with something like pain or maybe something else like maybe something by Versace” Bret Easton Ellis, Glamorama (2000)
[v] “Knock me down nine times but I get up ten” Cardi B, Get Up 10 (2018)
[vi] The water treatment facility within the reservoir is cordoned off and peppered with dams. Steep descent. Swimming on Scottish Water grounds is strictly forbidden.
[vii] Two verses deleted.
[viii] Somewhere around this mark A gets into the water.
[ix] A genuine hazard whilst cycling but irrelevant here.
[x] Flashback to B asking A to walk upstairs backwards.
[xi] Or something. Something has been lost.
[xii] One of the original creation myths recounts that following the battle with demons, gods exited the scene as rainclouds.
Published as part of Of water: a ten-point system, a project by Arieh Frosh and To Whom This May Concern.
Chisenhale Studios
Friday 3rd August 2018
11am — 7.30pm, Artists’ Reading: 2pm