For Derby

Girl with pink bra, long legs and short skirt,

Glitter speckling from red platforms onto ambivalent concrete.

Boy with red eyes, cheeky smile and blue hat,

Features blurred by wisps of smoke, but not rings.

Youth drunk through straws clinking over cobbled streets,

Sudden dips that lurch on, groping for unsteady balance.

The flavour of the night rises up to tickle the stars

And waisted embraces come from stranger-friends arms.

Smiles grow and hearts heal for just a little, short while,

Hope toasted. Tomorrow delayed. Yesterday’s tears can wait.