Janet
Rogerson has a pamphlet A Bad Influence Girl
which was published by The Rialto in
2012. She is currently a PhD student at The University of Manchester. She has
never won anything remotely poetry related so was very happy to win the open
mic favourite poem competition at Once
More with Meaning, with the title poem from her pamphlet ‘A Bad
Influence Girl’.
(We were unable to publish 'A Bad Influence Girl', however, we do how a replacement poem 'Sex Shop Sestina')
------------------------
Sex Shop Sestina
Ken
works in insurance, it can be pretty
dull,
though he does meet some interesting people.
One
of his clients is Coco ’s Sex Shop,
the
things he’s seen in there, how other people live.
He
would feel his face burn with shame at first
as
he furtively entered looking this way and that way.
If
anyone saw him what could he say,
there is no way
they
would believe it was work, he was pretty
sure
about that. Inside what he saw shocked him at first,
it
thrilled him too, he’d never admit that to the people
at
work, they gave him the account on purpose, they live
to
humiliate him, but he’d proved them wrong about the Shop.
At
home he tries not to think about the Shop
he
couldn’t be happier with his wife, the way
they
live is not exciting but it’s a decent way to live
and
she’s not bad for her age, still pretty
in
her own way, she’s a lot better than most people,
and
she always puts his needs first,
he
likes that about her, he comes first,
and
you wouldn’t catch her in Coco’s Sex
Shop
she
has standards, high ones, not like some people.
Still,
there are other alternatives. Another way
to
live. He glances over at Sophie’s pretty
face,
her round red mouth open like she’s alive.
He’s
feeling down today. This is no way to live,
everyone
else comes first, he should put his needs
first
for
once. Maybe he’ll take something pretty
home
for his wife, although he’s not talked about the Shop,
she
might get the wrong idea, no, it’s
not her way
some
people are fixed in their ways, other people,
people
like him have a deeper side to them. People
have
desires and needs – they can’t live
like
this. Something is going to happen one way
or
another. She was his first love, first
and
only lover but the men who go to the Shop
are
different, carefree. Sophie sure looks pretty.
Baby you’re so
pretty, I don’t care what people
think, the Shop
don’t own you, we can live
anywhere. My
wife never loved me this way.
