I
chose a congested way
Noisy
Narrow
An
overground tube
From
the desolate space of Vauxhall
To
the cramped confluence of Clapham Junction
Riding
its tidal wash
On
the varieties of 77
I
learned to know its multiplicity of islands:
The
brown square stones of Springfield
And
Landsdowne estates;
The
micro world of Lambeth college
And
the grimy parade where they filmed
My
Beautiful Launderette.
I
also learned its churches:
Set
back, the independent chapel of Courland Grove
Hid
inconspicuous amongst its concrete;
The
mission compound of Springfield Methodist
And
the secularised complex of the
Lady
Margaret Hall Settlement.
Further
on where the 3036 aspires to Lavender Hill
I
marked the Victorian bulk of an all too earth-bound Ascension.
But
I chose a postwar factory
Masquerading
as a church,
Before
odious Lambeth clambered
Into
the perfumed aspirations of Wandsworth
Clapham
Baptist -
A
factory for humanity if not always for the Spirit.
This
was my first home
Congested,
certainly
It
twisted my body into cruel contortions
But
was my first surfboard
To
ride the tidal wash of London.