ED2015 Columns ED2015 Spoken Word ED2015 Week2 Edition

Poetry Corner #06: by James Bran

By | Published on Tuesday 18 August 2015

James Bran

ThreeWeeks invites Fringe-favourite poets to put some words to paper – or a portable device of their choosing – to entertain you here in Poetry Corner. This time, we hear from James Bran.

Edinburgh Festival,
Day 1 – flyers fly from my hands to those of passers by
and I smile and they sigh at how pithily I reply when they ask for the time or directions to the mile
and I just can’t wait for it all to begin.

Day 4 – flyers refused by americans bemused at why they should stop to see anything that isn’t made of rock.
The castle is here in June.

Day 7 – flyers leak from my hands to the meek fingers of broken over-dramatic teenage geeks
who have just performed Sweeney Todd for the 7th time to an average attendance of 3.

Day 8 – flyers flow down Robertson’s Close, carried on the rain that keeps the punters away
that ensures that today my show has an audience of Dave.

Day 12 – flyers fly from my hands into the backs of the heads of passers by
and I laugh as they cry out about how 300gsm is actually quite a heavy paper.

Day 14 – flyers stick in my gnarled claws as I avoid starting brawls with the cool kids who paste four stars on their face
and marvel at how well they are doing, how good things are brewing,
how when they get back to London word will surely have spread.

Day 21 – I’m sick of the sight of my own face.
Sick of hearing the words ‘funny’ and ‘free’ and ‘four stars from Threeweeks in 2003’ spewing out of my tired fucking face.

Day 22 – flyers tip into a skip and I remind myself that 5000 mugshots is more than one man needs.
Next year I’ll only get 4000.

‘James Bran: Invisible Badminton And Other Dreams’ was performed as part of PBH’s Free Fringe at Edinburgh Festival 2015.



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