Natural Selection

“Don’t let it drag you down”
—The Enemy, ‘We’ll Live and Die in These Towns’

Nothing happens in these rundown towns so we struggled
Not to be a little naughty. And once
Quickly—before he took it away again just as fast—
Pete said something like, “It feels wrong, somehow,
Saying some of the things we say.” But then we carried on
Saying them anyway. It wasn’t the drink or drugs.
It was the small things that barely sustained our small lives, only
These ran against our allotted time, unbeknown
To us: no one around shouted owt otherwise.
Pete could sometimes be… obtuse… with what he said; but I
Ended up trying really hard (whilst getting it wrong
A lot of the time) to learn better words. He never did.
Consequently, along with Gaz and Down-That-Pint-Dave—who were also
From my estate—he killed himself.

(A version of this poem was first published in my pamphlet L’etoile, October 2024. Redacted copy available here: https://ashleydunn.co.uk/letoile-redacted/)