The Book of My Silent Wake: a chronicle of the final live ritual; plus MMV – MMXXV reviewed

  1. The Beautiful South
  2. In the Beginning (2004):
  3. ‘The Festival of Ostentatious Raffle Calls’
  4. My Misplaced Concern for Plymouth’s Piss-Poor Pubs
  5. Gig Day
  6. The Gig
  7. The Cold Bleak Light of the Following Day
  8. The Review

The Beautiful South

Friday 29th August I set off to see the last ever live performance of UK doom legends My Silent Wake. It was taking place the following day at the One For Sorrow festival @ the Junction, Plymouth.

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Sock Drawer

My sock drawer
Isn’t so important
As I think
Soon won’t matter
What will happen—
emptied forever
or refilled in the name
of another—
I don’t know
Except to be certain
The day will come
When my sock drawer is opened
In permanent absence of me
And whoever has done so
Will express something or other
When looking down upon
The pieces of cloth
That once adorned my feet
I wonder what they’ll think
Whether eyes brimming with love
Will be blinded by tears
Or more likely
Will ones of indifference
Judge—for they won’t
be able to help it somehow—
In favour or against
Think stylish or stingy
Maybe even poverty stricken
Or someone who just didn’t care
I wonder what they will see
During the last ever look
Into my sock drawer
Before its contents are cast
Into the dark depths of a black bin liner
Or the whole piece of furniture
Stuck on top of a bonfire
I imagine these possibilities
While remembering
The next time grabbing a pair
Could be the last time of mine too

With thanks to D. D. Buck^ for use of the header image (licensing).

Thanks for reading 🙂

N. P. Ryan

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