Goldsmiths - University of London

Juliet Cochrane

[ Biography ]

Last Night I Dreamt I Lived Next Door to C.K. Williams

Last night I dreamt I lived next door to C.K. Williams. I wanted to show him my
poems, but was too scared. I leaned on the wall between our back gardens.

The cold brick pinched my arms. He was pulling weeds. 'Bloody weeds!'
I said, half laughing. I felt foolish. He hadn't heard. 'Bloody weeds!'

I laughed, again, louder, harsher, than I'd meant. He turned. 'Hello. Excuse me?'
'Bloody weeds!' 'Ah, yes, goddamn nuisance.' I shot my hand over the wall

'Welcome to the street.' He stood, walked across the lawn, right up to my hand
and shook it weakly, saying 'But you just moved in. I've lived here for years.'

'Oh.' I realised my garden was thick with weeds. 'It's good to have met you'
he said, turning back to his garden, dropping down to his knees.

Van Dyck

Van Dyck, I saw people in your paint.
I saw real eyes. Eager eyes,
to be there, with you.

Is it pride, nerves, a self-conscious shift,
in the shading of their eyes? Or do I
stare and stare desperately to see them?

To feel connected to the past, to my people,
who kept their feelings mixed up and
layered behind their eyes. Van Dyck,

did you ever want to hold them, as you
heard their thoughts, as you stared
and stared into their oily eyes?

[ Biography ]