jack and claire
went up the stairs
to shoot a baggie of smack
jack fell down
and broke his crown
and claire she ran out back

jack pulled through
in ITU
six months later – home
he looked for claire
she wasn’t there
so jack was all alone

jack’s mum Lynne
she stepped in
forgiving to a fault
jack lay a-bed
and took what she said
with methadone and salt

his mum slammed out
he gave a shout
and injuries notwithstanding
crawled from the sheets
on his hands and knees
to the stairs at the end of the landing

he lay at the top
looked down at the drop
a spaceman by a crater
the hole in his life
he’d burned with a pipe
and landed six months later

jack and claire
went up the stairs
to shoot a baggie of smack
jack fell down
and broke his crown
and claire she ran out back