(after Philip Larkin’s ‘Friday Night in the Royal Station Hotel)
Light spreads brightly downwards from the wide-
screen television between high windows
that face the car park, where taxi headlights flare.
At the bar, men in short-sleeved t-shirts flash tattoos,
down beery dregs and, glancing at the score,
jostle in a noisy exit. Receptionists issue
key cards to new arrivals. Waiters pass,
and families with children have already retired
leaving crumbs and half-drunk bottles on tables.
In resonant corridors, TVs and mobile phones compete. How
obtrusive, like a gameshow, it is –
free wif-fi, ready for posting to friends on Facebook
(but never face to face) indulgent selfies. Now
night comes on. Waves of hens and stags hit the clubs.
Kim M. Russell, 9th April 2017
Image found on Pinterest
On Day 9 of The Poetry School’s NaPoWriMo prompts, we are writing response poems that argue against, agree with, re-write, or converse with someone else’s poem. The difficulty, of course, lies in making our poems stand up on their own. The example is ‘Directions (after Billy Collins)’ by Inua Ellams, who has a whole book of these called Afterhours.
writing in north norfolk 
Oh! Fantastic! 🌹😎
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I absolutely love it, Kim. You have written a poem with such atmosphere with wonderful descriptions of the scene and the clientele. I can picture the whole scenario; and I chuckled at “Waves of hens and stags hit the clubs.” Bravo!
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Thank you, Mary! Cardiff is notorious for stag and hen nights, and some of the things I’ve seen on the streets… I haven’t been back for some years now I’m retired.
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I so love the interesting details. “In resonant corridors, TVs and mobile phones compete.” True, true, very true.
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Thank you, Sumana!
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I could see it all, even a few of the tattoos. Smiles. The littered tables, the noise. I enjoyed the read.
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Thank you, Sherry!
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“like a game show” .. you’ve painted quite a picture and of course it all leads up to that killer last line.
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Thank you for reading and commenting!
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This poem has so much energy, I can see all the many things happening
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Thank you for reading and commenting.
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Fantastic So descriptive that it plays like a movie on my mind
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Thank you, Marja!
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Such vivid imagery helps me even smell sour leftover beer! And I also like the contrast between the bustle of the busy hotel areas and those “ready for posting to friends on Facebook / (but never face to face) indulgent selfies.” We have such a love/hate relationship with public spaces where all types of people might rub shoulders. Mighty fine poetry!
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Thank you so much for the detailed comment, Susan!
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Yo Kim — Sounds like the hens and stags were partying rowdy my friend… 🙂✌🏼🫶🏼
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I can clearly see the scene unfolding.
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Thank you.
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