I'm haunted by David Sylvian
on Top of the Pops in 1982
the bands as glittery as the sequins
on the boob tubes all misspellings
and the French sophistication
of Essex Classix Nouveaux Visage
the lip-glossed girls
in their pie crust blouses
and Topshop boiler suits
jaws aching from smiling
too hard for the camera
jostle to get closer
to Kool and the Gang
the DJ's arm around their waist
Tight Fit? Imagination? “Just An Illusion”?
or perhaps “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”?

then David with his Royal Wedding hair
face iced with a quarter inch of Clarins foundation
eyes the colour of dead champagne
hides beneath his flick fringe
stares at the floor and though later
the Goombay Dance Band sang "Seven Tears"
just one glitters on David's cheek
the synthesizer knells and creaks
cranks up the bagpipes
a cockroach of sound scuttles out of sight
leaving David alone with the darkness
ten million viewers and himself