LUNCH POEMS – THEA AYRES & EMILY PRITCHARD

 

Pose

 

I look okay
as a reflection.
I look my best
from behind.

I sometimes pass
if no one
looks too closely.

If I smile for the camera,
my stubble stands on end.

I feel the most
like myself when I use
my customer service voice.

The people who’ve known me longest
know me least.

 

Thea Ayres

 

 

 

Street Photography

 

It’s all in the timing:              removing

my helmet        as they cycle by

 

so they’ll catch me                  or catch my eye,

or greeting       with the absence of a smile –

 

that certain look,           not quite a nod

but of it.                 Today we eat falafel,

 

walk through rain,                   take

selfies beneath a board that says

 

Here Today                     Here Tomorrow

and we rhyme                 ourselves with it,

 

frame ourselves            in shop windows,

layered              over mannequins.

 

We know which surfaces reflect us

best      and when it’s time

 

to leave a place. We’re good at passing

interactions.  When we pass a group of men,

 

it’s like the bridge          in Spirited Away –

if we breathe                   we will be seen.

 

Can they see us now                  or now

                                                   or if I take your hand?

 

I don’t want                     to take your photograph.

I want to give it

 

Emily Pritchard

 

 

 

 

Our lunch poems workshop, exploring street writing and photography, took place in Leeds in April 2019 led by poet Andrew McMillan and photographer Lizzie Coombes.