Cassettes

He hoped that she might mention him
in the tapes she left behind

but she didn't.

He took the tapes
(all forty or so,
in a smart brown briefcase)
and listened to them,
all the way through.

There was a hell of a lot of Five Star on there
but not one mention of her lover
or the lovely lovings that they shared.

There wasn't even anything slightly ambiguous
which might be about him, like
"Shouts to Big Boy!" or some such...

Yeah, he wishes...

Thirty tapes in,
there was nothing.

Nothing but the hissing
of Fuji ferric audio cassettes,
Maxell chrome and Memorex.

He got so desperate
he even played the tapes
sdrawkcab.

Still nothing.
What a berk.

But that night he felt a compulsion
to carry out the dark lord's work.

B.R. 07/04/2020

Memorex Can't Wait
The Zebras was the band I was in at school. "Sawfish Fur Life" (no idea) was our magnum opus.
Photo by B.R.