When I lived in a squat on the Coventry Road
I used to share Michael’s sister
With all the others in the house
This was not a sexual arrangement
As we only exchanged charcoal sketches
Of each other sleeping in our central beds
Kitty T was by far the best artist
Although she was partially blind
And I was the poorest by a mile
So I chose to hang fairy lights
From the central heating radiators
Lilith the Argentinian girl said very little
As she struggled with our language
She smiled a lot and was considered
The cement of the house
Deadpan Kate visited occasionally
As she was writing a book
The Soft Parameters of Michael K
Donna Maria Donna Maria Donna Maria