The German Market - A poem by Giovanni 'Spoz' Esposito

As part of the launch event for the Urban Art project at Central Library, Birmingham Poet Laureate Spoz joined the young people for a poetry workshop led by performance poet 'Polar Bear'. Spoz wrote this festive poem which he performed during the 'unveiling ceremony'.

The German Market

I can see my breath in front of me -
Billowing like steam train whistle cries,
Though it's difficult to see much else
With that low blazing grapefruit flaring my eyes.
It's not really late
It's three forty eight
It's crisp and biting, it's raw and sharp
New Street's as fancy as a Koi Carp.
We clasp each other's hands,
Heading for St. Martin's steeple
To save us from being swept away by a torrent of faceless people -
A raging river running down to the wharf,
Not like a market from Frankfurt or Düsseldorf.
I'm anxious, yet still excited.
I flex a little muscle, trying to be something I'm not,
Wading through the bustle, then stopping -
At a stall, gripping my shopping -
I'll have a bratwurst with mustard topping.
Then it's onto the next and the next and the next
Christmas shopping...
...gets me vexed.

About the Birmingham Poet Laureate
Birmingham Young Poet Laureate
Urban Art at Central Library

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