Talia Randall
in my mayonnaise half-life
i spent a year
washing
i held a rifle
clay pigeon
shooting with a gang
of toffs who said
they were hard
i used to be
a sister
he was 24
when i stopped
there were a few
times when I relaxed
my screwface
on the nightwalk
late-summer balm
had me all loose
dad once told me
i should have been
a wrestler
or a singer
*
once
my screwface sister gang
had me shooting
clay toffs
late-summer
they were spent
on a nightwalk
with a 24
held a year when
dad should have been
a balm or a rifle
he used
i stopped washing
there were a few times when
i said who i was
relaxed
the all of me
i pigeon singer
i loose wrestler
i told to be hard
*
a late-summer wrestler
once used me
had me on a rifle
be loose
he said
i spent 24 times
washing my screwface
with nightwalk balm
a few toffs were there
they were all a gang
should i have
told dad
i was a sister
a hard pigeon
who stopped the year
shooting clay
when held
to a singer
i relaxed
Raised on a London council estate, TALIA RANDALL began her artistic career in community schemes including Roundhouse Poetry Collective. She’s the creator of Deaf inclusive poetry show What Words Are Ours? and Cassette Tape Radio a comedy and poetry podcast.