�This Is Why We Follow The Bears�

A Poem by Steven Pottle

Phew! We triumphed the latest tube delays
Nothing to worry about as familiar street signs direct us through backstreets
Bethnal Green had never seen so much colour before
The rockabilly clothes took some of the buildings back to the 1950’s
Made me think about my parents and the photographs we’ve shared in the past…images of their past
Made me happy, made me feel like I finally belong somewhere

He says, “This is why I walk these roads”

Anchor my hand to this place and sink my feelings into this building
You could smell the history-
Half of the sense was of great performances, the other half was long forgotten misery
The brave, the insane and the long time rejected are collected before bright stage lights
They prepared by the left wing to shine more powerful than any bulb ever could
Sitting and waiting we admired, inspired by their guts to get up before a small hall of strangers
If they could do something like this, then we could do anything to better ourselves and influence those around us…

He states, “This is why I had to call this my home”

The first guy up had travelled by unicycle
But who’d have thought this would be used in his act
Jumping up and down on the cycle seat
To help a surprise of n****e tassels to twirl round and round
We spat out our raspberry beer at the sheer nerve of his brilliance
How can you follow something so great?
How about a size zero man dressed full of dancing feathers and bent projecting real eggs from between his legs!
“The Birdie Song” had never sounded so fitting…what was I thinking?!
Our whole table looked at each others shocked faces, laughed and clapped in unison
The judges were loved up without the usual television pantomime hatred
Making the right noises they restore your hope in real entertainment
Noticed in the audience for our beards we were singled out in the crowd
Daddy Grizzly was flirty, funny and looked something stunning in his thigh high rubber boots
All eyes moved quickly from us to the other side of the room to where the stage demanded attention again
Undress after taste test, the performers challenged our already eager interest
This was one of those moments that confirmed your happiness at doing something scary

I whisper, “And this is why I decided to live here”

The final interval of the night was our cue to say goodbye- had to catch the last tube home
We all agreed that a night like this shouldn’t be marred by a night bus ride through West Norwood
Waving, congratulations, hand shaking as we made our way through the crowd, competitors and venue regulars
Smiles as we walk fast to the nearest underground station, jog a little down the escalator with our massive hearts beating
On the platform we all look at one another and take turns in telling of the sights that we’d seen
All talk interrupted by the familiar underground gust that declares that our train is nearly here
Sitting down, this is a life announcing night and I’m more than happy to be a part of what we saw there…

We all declare, “This is why we follow the bears”