“Morning Mr Arthur, I’ve come to fix the fridge.”
He said: “I’ve got a little magnet
of the Brooklyn Bridge…
The ice cream went all mushy first
And nothing much survived…
We brought it back from New York
When me wife were still alive…
But where’s me manners, sunshine,
Would you like a cup of tea?
What do you say you’re here to fix
The fridge, or the TV?”
I said: “I’m no good with tellies
I’m here to do the fridge.”
He said: “I’ve got a little magnet
Of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Take no notice of me, son
Me mind’s not what it was,
I lose me way a lot these days
I know I do because
I hear me when I’m talking
But there’s gaps in what I say,
Like when the rain stops under bridges
As you drive a motorway.

I hope the rain stops soon, son
The fridge man comes at three
Forgive me manners won’t you?
Would you like a cup of tea?
You’ll have to drink it black, mind
I’ve no milk in cos of fridge,
I’ve got a little magnet
Of the Brooklyn Bridge…”

This poem has been adapted and set to music as Brooklyn Bridge by Phil Odgers on his latest album Uke Town. Joe Solo’s latest campaign is Not On Our Watch, a bid to use funds raised from sales of his new We Shall Overcome EP to help people through a short-term funding crisis rather letting them go cold or hungry. Odgers and Solo have Bandcamp pages where those recordings are on sale.

Poetry on the Picket Line is a squad of like-minded poets putting themselves about to read their work on picket lines, in the spirit of solidarity. Invitations to rallies etc. welcome, contact facebook.com/pg/PicketLinePoets. The new Poetry on the Picketline anthology is available at culturematters.org.uk.