(damaged by water)

For years I had read of the poetry
Not (illegible) getting any
quite right. So (damaged by water)
if only I were better at sports.

The man on the park bench sat
(blot)ing his (deleted) smile.
The pigeons were very (crossed out).
The pigeons were very cross.

And then the (scribble) of your first
‘commercially viable’ single moves you to
(grey haze). It is still too sad and too long and
too like the Velvet Underground in (unclear) places.

The (water?) comes in little puffy sniffs.
(smudged) the park bench, under the tall songs,
it's (indecipherable) how quickly
one's pain au chocolat is gone.