ROY BAYFIELD
Etarre in Glastonbury
She drew an outline
of the Tor which we took as an instruction;
walked to the top but did not stay
long – the wind was too bleak or the place too
thin.
Aching on the High Street I yearned for purchase
of at least a hundred myths
or none – in a café, glimpsed
a goddess and/or
fellow tourist
in a translucent microfibre robe
from one of the newer magick
shops. On the outskirts there’s a KFC
and a Travelodge as in any town – but we had climbed
the Pilgrim Way with steps as sacred as any.
Later, the sleeping-room – net
curtains illuminated by the moon,
the stars and the security
lamps, the hem of a sleeve filling all
the motel window, a word
delineated in empty
perfume.
Roy Bayfield's writing has been published in the anthology BritPulp! and magazines including Star*Line and Neon Highway. His blog Walking Home to 50 was an account of a journey between two piers, Southport in North West England and Brighton on the south coast. In it a description of a visit to the anomalous town of "Argleton" brought about international media appearances and the creation of a special beer in a nearby pub. His experience of undergoing heart surgery during this journey also led to the collection Bypass Pilgrim. Roy is currently writing an account of a visit to the Six Realms of Buddhist Tradition.
