Back When Jessie Had a Thing About Handbags

Back When Jessie Had a Thing About Handbags

Jessie

used to use between

eight

and ten bags almost

every day

for two whole years ..

Which

averaged out around

seven hundred

English sobs per week

back then ..

And that, was just

to keep

the bone-ache at bay ..

Jessie very

rarely gouched out ..

In fact, I don’t

think I saw her once,

in those

last eighteen months,

or thereabout ..

Jessie used to make

a killing

lifting handbags

from off

the floor and between

the feet

of so many women

pissing,

or doing what they

had to do

in the cubicle, next to

where

she would sit waiting

to grab 

another one, then

scarper

and loose herself

in the bustling streets

outside

Charring Cross railway

station

and ladies lavatories ..

Now and then,

Jessie got clean when

required

to spend time in one

of her majesty’s

finest of prison cells ..

Oh’ and just

for the record, she was

classically

trained and one hell

of a looker ..

But she never fucked

to make cash ..

She said she loved me

way too much

to do anything like that ..

And anyway,

she had a decent job

grabbing

ladies handbags to fall

back on ..

Then one Friday night

in nineteen

eighty something ..

Jessie and

me had an argument ..

Right after

her giro was cashed

and a cheque bounced ..

And although

I forget, what it was all

about now,

I do remember Jessie

being found tho ..

With a pin in her arm

on a swing,

in some bloody kids

playground ..

Close by the canal

we would

occasionally walk along ..

Jessie never

did say goodbye to me

and I’m not

even sure, if I told her

I loved her

before she went over

and I got clean

without too much of a

rattle ..

But I hope I did

and still think of her often ..

 

 

 

Reviews

[Marie]

Wow! The very poignant story of Jessie is very finely penned and expressed. Sadly, Jessie didn't turn her life around! You paint a picture from life's other side for your reader, one which imparts that we need to make careful choices so life is good both to us and for us. A heartbreaking ending, but love lives on! Thank you for sharing. I enjoyed reading this poem, it brought a teardrop down my cheek!

[Neville]

I really can't thank you enough Marie .. many serious thank you's are on their way to you write now .. Neville

[Marie]

Most welcome, Neville and thank you for sharing your amazing poem...

[Neville]

Bless you Marie .. N

[Marie]

Bless you too, Neville...

[Neville]

...............................😎👍

[olla]

we've lost to many on this long and dusty road.. it's now become generational.. Your words gave itanother chance to b heard.. and they do need to be heard.. thankyou Neville..

[Neville]

hello olla, I am delighted you felt able to leave your mark on this particular page, it is indeed an honour to have you visit and smile down so favourably upon my words here .. and what's more, it feel both good and reassuring that you know where I am coming from and think similarly .. I do so hope you are well Neville

[olla]

I am well.. thankyou.. I was a teenager in the late 60's woodstock era.. my daughter worked for a treatment center as an inturn for her degree... and I have grandsons.. I've been lucky I haven't lost anyone but you'll find my claw marks where I hung on to keep a couple of them from falling off.. it is a road well traveled..

[Neville]

so good to hear .. travel on & always ola .. Neville

[Betty Hermelee]

Sometimes people make bad choices in life. .rthat doesn’t mean that they are necessarily bad people…. Mistakes are allowed and it teaches us to be better for it……Jessie just needed to clean up her act and know that she, in fact, was loved, despite some poor choices….. well done my friend!
Warmly
B🌷

[Neville]

Thanks tons Betty .. warmly back at you my friend .. Neville 😎🌻

[Betty Hermelee]

You are welcome my friend!
Warmly, B

[Chris Shaw]

Well worth a second visit for a multitude of reasons. Life is all about choices. Some of them can be heartbreaking. Have a great weekend Neville. Enjoy the band tomorrow.

Chris 💜

[Neville]

Thanks tons our Chris second visits are worth twice as much .. & you are of course quite right .. The Quivering Poets were on form and a fine time was had by all .. Neville 💜

[Thomas W Case]

This one hits like a cold slap in the gut—gritty, raw, and unflinching, but threaded with love that never left.
Jessie lives in these lines: broken, beautiful, dangerous, and unforgettable—your voice holds her memory with kindness even through the dirt and heartbreak.

[Neville]

Thanks loads, I thought this might resonate mate .. N

[Papaya]

Life is the toughest thing to turn around. I like the way you told the story in a non-chalant tone.
The story is sad but the tone in which it's delivered speaks to how ordinary these tragedies can be/have become.

[Neville]

I am most grateful to you for the visit and for your understanding of how it is for so many .. Neville

[Papaya]

You're welcome ☀️

[Neville]

.......... ⭐

[Chris Shaw]

I am so pleased you loved Jessie. I have my own Jessie not quite as far gone. All I can wish is that she finds a friend as loving as you. Walking on a knife edge, still with us. You have been there and come out the other side. This is so close to my heart. Saddens me so but so beautifully penned Neville.

Chris

[Neville]

TY OC ................ 😎👍

[JD Major]

Phew!!! Riveting tall Read, hooked me every line, wishing it'd never end! 🙂

[Neville]

Jessie had a heart as big as any planet .. and I did love her so albeit briefly .. thank you on her behalf .. Neville