By Laurence Collinson[1]
Into the gutters gushed the tedious rain
and overflowed on to his step-worn shoes.
he trod the puddled cobbles of the lane:
discomfort emphasised the tawdry views
of blustering shirts on lines, and garbage cans
with lids upthrust by swollen refuse and
newspaper wrappings, and broken pots and pans,
and fences come unstuck from sodden land.
He crouched behind a sheltering iron wall
and looked out on the roadway pierced by drops.
The heavy clouds around him seemed to fall,
the thunder flattened sadly on housetops.
He thought how much he’d like a change of scene
and watched a lady in a limousine.
Barjai no 16, September- October 1944, p4.
[1] (1926-1985) editor Barjai 1943-47, high school teacher, psychotherapist, writer, artist, and campaigner for homosexual law reform.