White Noise

Miss Kitty
standing there
with her mother
on the pavement
with her back-pack
looking up
standing there
on the pavement
veins distended
with the effort
looking up
towards the parapet above
where a man in white pyjamas
stands immobile
on a ledge
arms outstretched
like the Messiah

There’s a chopper
even higher
far above
the white Messiah
it looks lovely
to Miss Kitty
with its iridescent colours
like a magic fire engine
“If he falls”
says Miss Kitty
“will his soul come popping out?”

There’s a shout
from the onlookers
looking up
veins distended with the effort
looking up
towards the parapet above
where the man in white pyjamas
cleaves the air
arms extended
in a perfect swallow dive.

People scatter
look away
look away
from the moment
but Miss Kitty
frames precisely
in her head
the epicentre
of the moment
when the man in white pyjamas
finds communion
with the pavement.