West Ham did win.

West Ham did win.

I was with madmen and crazies

Who had smoked too much marijuana

Injected themselves with inkblots

Painted their faces in sorrow

They railed at the world

Laughed at inconsequential things

Some highbrow guy

Who identified himself as being in the wrong place

Spent eight hours talking about injustice

To a night nurse,

With a penchant for petty cruelty,

We were all waiting for the morning when the shifts changed

And the doctors took the newbies to one side

Just to be sure they were still in the world

So many weren’t.

One guy asked what I could see

On a dirty plate

After supper

I said nothing more than a single seed

It was a poppy

But that was a whole other train of thought.

He said “I can see a field of corn

And a world without hunger.

What do you see when you see an acorn?”

“I see the possibility of a tree. What about you?”

“I see a forest…a world of green,

A palette of colour.

The majesty of life”

He had that faraway look

Of somebody

Who could have transported himself

To another place

Without moving a muscle

Even though I was leaving

He seemed to be already gone

“What do you see when you see me?”

I asked.

“That’s easy,” he said. “I see potential.”

“Potential for what?”

“Potential for more.”

I was grateful for that

And left him to his

Personal interpretation of confinement.

So many things I remember

So many wise words

From beyond the fringe

I wondered if he remembered

What he said

How much of it was recalled

When the veil was lifted

When he went out into the world

Walked across a field of wildflowers

Felt the warmth of freedom on his skin

The smell of freshly cut grass,

Climbed a mountain

For no other reason

Than to kiss the sky

Did he remember me

As I remembered him?