Today was the first Portland Street Exchange in Southampton, an event aiming to breathe cultural life back into a street which has, over the decades, slipped from vibrant thoroughfare to short-cut-with-bins. Organised by Mu Collective, it featured video art, games, creative workshops, music and poetry. I was pleased to be one of the featured poets alongside Duncan Green, as we used statements written by visitors to write a poem about the city. We wrote alternate lines (on the window of the Halifax building, thanks for permission, it’s washed off now!) without editing, and this is the end result…
Hamwiccans tripping over timelines,
potential missed, centre-draining street confines,
paving slabs hopscotch across the top,
sea-monkey treads water in forgotten docks,
top-notch yachts sail through Solent fog,
city Itchen to Test new breath of life,
cultural manoeuvres brief as mayflies,
quarantined to quarters tighter than Yates’ landlord,
greasy stink of last night’s lamb shish,
marvellous Bargate grants visitors’ wish,
ships blast chords, spit particulate air,
life anew through community, awesome share
better than bare minimum, art and parks –
worse than Portsmouth? You’re having a laugh!
Dave Hubble 