The End of the Rainbow

I shall never forget the day Zippy died.
It was the dizzy height of summer.
The pavements were as hot
as Scotch bonnet peppers
and I felt like I was the only human being
left alive in South Rochdale.

They found him stuffed in an airing cupboard,
his eyes bulging with naked terror
and his cavernous gob
filled with Bolivian marching powder,
zipped up tight and padlocked.


At the funeral,
Vince Hill sang Over the Rainbow
while George and Geoffrey
sobbed uncontrollably,
swept away by a river of tears.

Emotions amongst the mourners varied:
Bungle was unable to conceal his glee
and started a conga in the churchyard
with Rod, Jane and Freddy.


George's long pink lashes,
ablur with lachrymae.
The gold of silence tarnished
for ever on that day.

B.R. 28/02/2017