by Luke Sheridan

I said goodbye to a friend today.
A mirror.
A rainforest well of the same unknown depth.
A crystal cave undrained by men with ropes and suits.
Unvisited by the thousand eyes
Devouring the monthly publications
Extolling the great wonder of the hidden
Deep, displaying in photographs ‘untouched’ nature with a
Proud man in the bottom left corner for reference.

I said goodbye to the same lapis rock
Which, ground into powder and hung
In our galleries
Looks so different to the ambling spectators who chance upon us.
How does that same mineral
Furnish the unfolded Wilton in Angelic invitation
And yet lay in the darkness of the Madonna a corridor away?

I said goodbye to a friend today.
A surprise, who had long remained an alien.
A relief from the monotony of blue laminate floors,
and plastic tables, and standardised notes.

A clear reflection on a train from Stratford.
I said goodbye to the summer I grew up with today.