Faraway Guy

Faraway Guy sits on the grass

And allows himself to become

Mesmerised by the silvery reflections

On the River Tyne.

His thoughts take him away

To the life he had first dreamed of as a child.

The writer of popular novels,

Eagerly read in a hundred countries,

Then adapted for the big screen,

Celebrated vehicles for A-list

Hollywood movie stars.

Photos of him in faraway places

For magazines with

Strange sounding names.

Then his ring tone

Reels him back to reality.

The river is now gunmetal grey

And the weeds feel damp.

He fights hard not to bring to mind the

Money worries, marriage hitches,

mortgage payments, managers deadlines,

MOTs and meter readings.

The relentless turns of the earth

And gravity’s stultifying pinning-down

To the day-in day-out grip

Real life has upon him.

All this never

faraway at all.