Saturday, 29 March 2025

Walking through town with a dolphin by Suzie Pearson

No-one bats an eye
One kid,
ONE!
calls out “nice dolphin”
We look at each other,
laugh at the moment

Should I be surprised?
This is a town where we’ve seen
        a coati on a lead,
        a ferret on a string,
        and an eight foot green dragon running the streets

Nowt as queer as folks, I guess



First appeared: https://wordsfromanotebook.com/walking-through-town-with-a-dolphin/

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I wrote this after carrying a large toy dolphin from low town to high town to donate to one of the charity shops, and the absurdity of the visual stuck with me. You need to have lived in Bridgnorth to know!

5 comments:

Jennie said...

I love this - we do have a regular dragon here so could easily be Bridgnorth!

Liz said...

One never stops learning! This is the first time I've ever heard of a coati. Thanks to Wikipedia I now know that it's a South American racoon. I love the quirkiness of Bridgnorth you've so brilliantly captured in your poem Suzie. Will add Bridgnorth to your tags!

Irena Szirtes said...

We actually watch out for that dragon, often seen on the pavement of the by-pass! Would love to see the ferret!
Is there a bit of Englishness as well as quirkiness? I once keeled over in a busy pub along with a very tall bar stool (it was in Reading, though) I couldn't stop laughing, but no one so much as smiled! Same when (for a dare) I went and did normal stuff in fancy dress!
I like that you shared a moment with that one kid!

Suzie said...

You might be right. You've also just reminded of a time in Bruges when I saw a man cycle straight into a hedge... I laughed hysterically and loudly. I felt bad... but it was funny. Rest assured Irena, I'd have laughed right along with you!!

Irena Szirtes said...

Glad to hear it 🤣