Winner of The Letter Review Prize for Poetry
No magic roundabout reverie here
the anti ice cream van haunts the suburbs
singing scrap iron, any old iron
A tannoy trumpets a thin melody
a voice singing with a scrape of scrap metal
no magic round about here
A Bedford van drives slowly down the street
a hawker sings, walking ahead
scrap iron, any old iron
I run to the window, fogging the glass
please take me with you, teach me your trade
no magic work arounds here
My great grandad dealt in scrap metal too
we were too young to tag along beside his cart
singing scrap iron, any old iron
Please take me with you, I can travel lightly
dragging a discordant swan song
magic is needed around here
let me sing scrap iron, any old iron
Tim Shore is an artist and emerging poet, living in Derby, in the Midlands, UK. He has a Masters from the Royal College of Art, London, and has held teaching positions at the University of the Arts, London and the University of Derby. His films have been screened widely, including Rotterdam, London and Los Angeles film festivals. He was nominated for the transmediale.07 Berlin prize and shortlisted for the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize, London. His artist books are in the collections of: The British Library; Bodleian library, University of Oxford; Tate Library, and others. He’s been writing poetry since 2021 and received an Arts Council England creative practice grant to support his writing in 2022. He recently received a commendation from the Slipstream Poetry Prize, and his work will feature in Holy Cows: An Anthology of Writing and Art, published by Arlen House in October 2024, and Transformer: Writing the Black Country, published by ZER0 Books / Collective Ink in 2025. Find him at timothyshore.com