| Excuse me love This smartly dressed woman in a white fluorescent coat softly says Sorry to bother you Looked like you were day dreaming there But are these loom bands for sale? They're beautiful. Were Yeah I state Take em Today is the last day Everything must go. Everything she enquires Yeah I'm a nuisance apparently And my pitch being within ten meters of THAT ATM. That's a problem too A nuisance? she goes Tell me about it I say Absolute joke if you ask me Christ. As if there aren't enough problems at the moment. So how many d'you want? Well just three if possible she says For my mother, my daughter and myself if that's ok? All the same too if I can Pink would be fab Ok they're just down here And your name is? Call me Sandra she says Ok Sandra I've got all different colours and patterns Shapes and sizes How old is your daughter I ask Aw she's fifteen she's goes Sitting her GCSEs and thinking about university Right little diva she is with the attitude and confidence and all Having a tough time at the moment And at this point her eyes begin to get all wet and glossy. Like she's fighting back tears. Holding it all in. That pain The pain I'm seeing in her eyes. I know that pain all too much. I'll take the three pink ones if that's ok she says Yeah sure thing I goes Jo picks up 3 pink loom bands and looks over to the JD bag |
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| Joanne |
Sandra goes to get out her purse No charge I say She looks at me all puzzled Continuing to rummage through her purse for change. I remain adamant No charge It's not just the fact that I feel for her and her pain or that she took the time to talk to me. Treat me like everyone else. Like a person. A human being That's something to me that money can't buy. That's being genuine. Please Please Please she mutters Just take a little something I hold her hand and close it with the money still in her palm and say seriously no charge. They got to go anyway I hand her the loom bands and say Just always wear them and that way you'll all be connected through whatever shit is going on at the moment. You'll always be a part of each other. Forever and always. She takes the pink bands from me and says to me in a tender tone What's your name darling? Joanne I reply but my friends call me Jo Well Joanne she says as she's packing away her purse and her loom bands into her handbag Thank you I watch her disappear through High Street and think that's my good deed for the day done. I starts gathering up the rest of the bands into the carrier bag and packing away my stall. Folds my cardboard up and I'm away Back down High Street to drop my stuff off Gets to my tent and unzips her. Plonks my stuff straight in and I'm off again. To the drop in centre To break it to Dave. |