Norris Street
written by: Andy Bates
From my sitting room
I hear all the familiar sounds
An ambulance races
Into the nursing home grounds
Where it’s one out
And a vacancy within
The Chinese Sunrise
A jewel in the terraced display
The telephone’s ringing
With famished orders to relay
Someone’s Szechuan sneaks
Through my window
Fragments of exchanges
As neighbours pass like shadows
Familiar voices
Solo, married or widow
The bin men arrive
Somebody’s spit slaps the pavement
A lad and his football
Cross swords with the gable end
He pictures Old Trafford
As he sends tenants round the bend
They let him crack on
We were all young once
The beep beep beep of the door chimes
Constant at the corner shop
For seventeen long hours
The loyal patrons flit nonstop
Scratch cards, top ups and cigs
Nobody wins
Lamp posts spring to attention
Distant laughter from the pub
A day just like any other
Silence spills as curtains shut
And then to bed
Rinse and repeat
Norris Street
- Norris Street - June 14, 2026
- Fajita Night - March 1, 2026
- To Infinity And Preston - November 6, 2025
