A Cat With A Tale

Three thirty on a sick summer's day

I round myself staring at a Newcastle bus stop

A total stranger in a herringbone suit

Asked me the time through his cigarette lighter

Fifteen years later on a Wednesday night

l round myself dreaming in a Manchester night-club

A total stranger in a luminous tracksuit

Gives me a kiss and he tastes of aluminium

Then he's gone

And in his place a cat with green eyes

A cat with no tall at all

Just a very sad expression on his race

Mandarin quotes on a wrought iron gate

I'm ringing the doorbell, but the petrol keeps leaking

A total stranger in a cashmere coat

Tells me politely, "Your wife is on fire"

A family outing at the Gosforth Park Hotel

The girl in the kitchen is working a job scheme

l told my wife I'm sure I've seen her before

She told me I kissed her al a Newcastle bus stop

Then I was gone

And in my place a cat with green eyes

A cat with a tale to tell