The Black Dog At Marlborough College

Tonight  I "performed" my poems on stage at Marlborough College and afterwards had supper with the students. The event was hilarious and the food cooked by Mrs Ponsford was astounding. The students were between 16 and 19 years old, I think and came  by choice.  It was packed.  The college is where John Betjamin also studied and has a rich history in poetry.   I think poet John Hegley would go down an absolute storm at Marlborough College and I meant to suggest as such. The students were articulate  and brimming with confidence. Good people to be around. 

Thing is, I have the black dog at the moment which makes everything  a little difficult.  Sometimes I wake up and it's there by the bed. It's fangs hang over its slobbering snout and its drool splashes on the floor. It's bigger than the bedroom door and has to droop is head above my bed.   The purple  eyes are sagging and rimmed with red fleshy illness. It's claws dig into he carpet and it drags a gammy leg too.   If you look at its matted wiry hair you will see the faces barely beneath its skin. Wherever I go the black dog goes. 

One morning I wake up and it's gone. Just like that. What can you do. It's a bugger to get on the return train from Swindon to London.