remember laurence denham

remember

laurence denham
jovial

saint imperfect
you smelled of quiz an
history avant garde

when you played the piano
your naked fingers trod
on mushrooms you
loved to play messiaen those

tropical bells floating up
from the baby grand
you wore dove grey shirts and slacks leaping from
a country autumn spin p m
plus fours were purely england remembered

after shanghai prison
scalded from the shattered
vacuum flask in a bamboo casket the nerve
swelled years later

malnourished an
american with medicine ball and chicken
built you up again

you saw it as one world
from the middle east you said the third

trouble would begin