Noises Off

By Emma Woodford

There, is a noise that wasn’t there before
a rough scrawl on the wind,
or the heating going crazy
the sound grows louder,
coming from the outside.
down there in the street
q large man inside a cabin
holds a radio wired to the ceiling in one hand
the other on the steering wheel as he moves along the lane
q woman at the back decked in fluorescent clothing is
clipping yellow boxes onto the giant lorry
lift, bang, bang, down
left side up, right side up
left side, right side down.
hop, step, jump back on, press a button and she’s gone
to the tune of some undefined song.