Ledbury Road
Two poems in memory of Mick Imlah 1. ‘Hardy and Housman lived round here,’ I said, slumped in an armchair in your flat. ‘Compared to those two, we’re small beer — Hardy and Housman, geniuses crowned here! No blue plaques for us, who’ve gone to ground here... We’re pygmies, compared to giants like that, Hardy and Housman, who lived round here,’ I said; slumped. In an armchair. In your flat. 2. I don’t remember, Mick, if ‘Ca the yowes’ Was one we listened to together, Long after closing time, in your small flat With the almost-derelict sofa, the bows Of our boat heading into heavy weather (How so?