Labour Day
For Michael Turner
It is high noon in Baghdad.
To her empty living room,
Cappelbaum quietly hums,
Sleep Country Ca-na-DA!
Why buy a mattress
a—nywhere else? ❇ding❇
When she closes her eyes,
Cappelbaum thinks she can hear
echoes of distant times:
(Double your pleasure, double your fun—)
Wait . . . what do you mean
Barq’s has bite? When she
opens her eyes, she can hear
the zuhr from the muezzins’
duelling calls.
They are loud,
these voices,
and piercingly clear:
Taste the rainbow!
Roll up the rim to win!
It’s the beer out here.