Stains

Contributor: Ray Miller

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All was lost on a daily basis:
she believed that there must be a thief
who was stealing for other faces
in need of spectacles and teeth.

The nocturnal feast was unfinished:
a weak bladder and toothless gums
left lipstick stains on the Guinness
and a trail of biscuit crumbs

to the Inco pad down the toilet
and a pool of piss on the ground.
The baby alarm had gone silent
and her knitting was all unwound

around a false breast on the carpet
that no-one was eager to touch
and her diary with the targets
that she’ll miss so very much.

She liked Flanagan and Allen,
and subscribed to The People’s Friend,
was a fan of Britain’s Got Talent –
she never made it to the end.


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