"Silence goes Silent"

I'm so glad there's no Dulwich Hamlet tonight
For I didn't want to be at a game
I'd rather be at 'Silence Found A Tongue'
If it's all the same.
Much as I like my poetry
Football would have been my choice
Even if it's nights like this
That give me confidence and a voice.
Despite the T-shirt that tells us
It's fucking poetry you hate
This is one of the Open Mic nights
For which I genuinely can't wait.
I really am gutted
When I miss it for a match
Not least 'cos it's South of the River
And this is my poetry patch.
I'm made welcome by Lizzie
Whose voice is more upstairs than down
But despite her posh accent
She's no toffee nosed lah-di-dah clown.
I'm old fashioned old school who judges people
On how they say their aitches and t's
If you speak posh and use fancy words
I tend to intellectually freeze.
That's why I love this night
Her and David are chalk and cheese
She got the superior posh voice
But it kind of puts me at ease.
He is the rude one
to which I can relate
The rude of fuck, bollocks and cunt
I learnt on my childhood Council estate.
He's a man after my own heart
Football, double pie & mash
No doubt if I were still drinking
We'd go out on the lash.
I thank you for making me welcome
I call you both a poetry friend
I really am gutted
'Silence Found A Tongue' is about to end.
I've always loved coming here
And not just because it's free
You're not ripped off rotten at the bar
Even for a cup of tea.
Poetry can be expensive
When you ain't got a pot in which to piss
I'm sure there's a lot of us out there
Who aren't flush so give it a miss.
Another think I love about here
Is that you can read whatever you write
None of that Slam-type formula
And no clicking fingers all night.
There's no one way of doing things
At 'Silence Found A Tongue'
Read or perform whatever you like
Exercising your mind and lung.
I can't believe it's all over
So thanks to Lizzie and David for letting me read
I just hope you find your 'Tongue' again
Do some more nights is all I plead.

Dulwich Poet 17th November 2015

(Tonight is the last evening of a monthly poetry event called 'Silence Found A Tongue'. It's a night I went to fairly often and one I really enjoyed. I've written this to read in my small Open Mic slot to thank them tonight.)