Weekenders

New to the world
Of other people
Weekenders occupy ground

Pavements, or pedestrian crossings,
Supermarket aisles

You see their smiles
Grinning joy
At being out
Of the house.

A week of Radio 4 or Greatest Hits Radio
It is endless
Daytime TV and Quiz Shows
Winning contestants and
Product placements
It has in parts
Made them sad
Or driven them mad.

A mind-numbing, spirit-crushing
Internal world
Externalised now
“Free at last, free at last!”
For it is the weekend
They occupy
‘The Outs’
(As prisoners say of release)
And they see at last
And they are at last, in it
In the outs
They have come out.

It is a big step.

The newbie joy
Is uncontained
Expressed as enthusiasm
For
The sun
The space
The pace at which it all unfolds
The chance to buy things and put them in
The bag
The trolley, on
The till, in view of all
The other people buying too
The shoppers they never normally meet
The opportunity to greet
The community we have
To consume
The world.

New to the world
Of other people
Weekenders stand their ground
We are here at last again.