Jordan Hayward
Clarence
I walk my lobster
into one crowded room
after another I dress him
in a slightly creased white
tank-top and take him to
the theatre on weeknights
to see new adaptations
of Jablö and Martrels shooting
finger-guns and finger-pincers
respectively at fellow theatregoers
amazing really this newfound
confidence he stumbled upon
Clarence his name is years ago
he’d scurry into these crowded
rooms cowering behind me
like a small child at the bank
not applying for a loan but
standing at the foot of a mother
speaking in tongues over counters
though Clarence’s cowering
was near constant near always
finding something to be afraid of
whether a neighbour’s cat
or the hum of tofu-steak
with tapenade in the oven
he’d whimper and roll and hide
in crevices make excuses
to avoid parties feign illness
feign forgetting play the old
I am a lobster I cannot change this card
I suppose it’s lobster nature
making his circle diminish
though ever since and I know
we were waiting for the third act
triumph I at least was holding
my breath the acquisition of this
sometimes creased sometimes
stained white tank-top miraculously
just his size he’s walked on
hind legs flamencoing his
elegantly manicured pincers
in an excitable 12/8 polyrhythm
clacking away the forlorn cloud
that wafted through his brain
still a walking castanet the life
of most parties really the centrepiece
this handsome lobster with his chest
puffed out and then some O
Clarence I look forward to your
soirées more than almost anything
these days these nouvelle servings
this turtle-waxed credenza the tasteful
jasmine incense billowing throughout
the room these guests open-mouthed
receiving an anecdote from your time
in Myanmar your favourite novella
by Bürlaw life is truly in the trough
of your claws seemingly for good
while mine has slipped through
a hole in an antique colander
and the butter has thinned in the pan
JORDAN HAYWARD is a poet based in Manchester, and one of the curators of Basket (@open__basket on Instagram), a performance series for poetry, art and sound in Manchester. He can be found everywhere @totoafricaremix.