The Turkish barber of Poole Old High Street ...

I walked past the Turkish barbers in Poole Old High Street - 

There was space inside for one chair only - 

A cassette tape was playing something anguished by Mercan Dede - 

I remembered the berbers of Karabortlen - 

How they'd doze in their chairs - 

A crumpled copy of Hurriyet on the customer's chair - 

Street dogs outside hiding from the sun - 

The mosque - 

The bust of Attaturk - 

The cool shade under the mulberry tree - 

The place where I'd celebrated the wonder of being alive - 

11.30

Saturday 5 January 2019

Old High Street 

Poole