The changing face of town : Sean Henry statue, Commercial Way, Woking, Surrey
THE DESTRUCTION OF WOKING
Or “Did you have a nice day at the office, darling?”
By Jo Walton
Well today dear, I decided
not to bother with the office
as I thought it more productive
to tear down a hideous suburb
with some friends, I met this morning
sitting in the railway carriage.
We all recognised each other
when we suddenly began to
take our ties off, altogether.
Some of them I’ve seen each morning
on the 7.10 to London,
but we never had occasion
to begin a conversation.
It turns out they’re good chaps, darling,
all of them, with one exception,
who remained still in his corner,
working on the Cryptic Crossword
quite determined to ignore us
all the talking and the laughter
that began to swell and bubble.
He was still there when I left it
in West Byfleet. I could see him
peering through the carriage window
rather puzzled, and quite worried
when he saw the platform piled up
with the neatly folded jackets
and the ranks of rolled umbrellas.
I’m afraid I swapped my briefcase,
when I went to get the crowbars,
for this shiny yellow hard-hat.
Yes, I know you gave it to me
with the gold initials on it
but I didn’t really need it
any longer, all those minutes
all those meetings were just wasted
didn’t matter, not important
all my work was inside boxes
where I couldn’t make a difference.
So, I helped to raze a suburb
and I’ll do the same tomorrow
sorting chairs out in the car-park
setting up the piles for mulching
working hard for my home county
it’s a task requiring doing
bringing me job satisfaction.
Maybe later there’ll be something
I can do that will be real;
several projects have been mentioned
that were really quite exciting,
we were making plans and talking
as we rewound wire from fences.
New ideas for education
using freedom of computers,
and the chalk downs on the golf course
cutting out a white horse up there,
or I’d like to do some baking,
have a cake shop in the city.
or one girl I met was saying
that she’d like to learn some cobbling
making proper shoes for women
and we talked a lot of spaceflight
I believe we ought to try it.
How was your day? Oh, the
garden,
yes I like it – trees, how splendid
and the creeper looks effective
though the ruins will need clearing
shall I do it now or later?
I don’t think we’ll miss the neighbours.
I was wondering if tomorrow
you might like to come and help me,
with the others, tear down Woking
and begin to build it better.
Would be nice to work together
there’s no real need for you to
go from home to get your hair done,
dieting and feeling lonely
we could find another hard-hat
it’s quite fun to rend and smash things
I feel sure that you’ll enjoy it.
There is a such a great potential
for new stories, new beginnings
if we clear away the clutter
we can make a space for dreaming
roll our sleeves up, work together
be responsible and joyful.
In this world, there might be giants
striding boldly through the cities
we could build a three-legged beanstalk
stretching up to space above us.
If we dare to get things started
if we live while we are living
if we walk with eyes wide open
if we choose to build in beauty
if we’re open with each other
and take off our ties together.
Summer 1996,
Jo explains how she came to write this poem…
"Way back in 1986 when I graduated university, I had a job in London in
finance. While I was looking for a flat to rent, I stayed for a couple of weeks
with a university friend and her parents in a suburban villa in Woking and
commuted into London. This was my first time working in an office every day, wearing a suit, commuting, and seeing the same half-familiar people on
the train every morning. I was also told by my friend's parents that Woking was
founded by the Woking as, a Saxon tribe. So, ten years later when I was writing
a poem around the concept of people spontaneously deciding they'd had enough
with capitalism and the artificial way we live and writing it in a very Saxon
metre, it was those images of Woking and that commute that immediately came to
mind."
Brief Bio…
Jo Walton is a science fiction and fantasy writer, she has published fifteen novels, including the Hugo and Nebula winning Among Others (2011) and most recently Or What You Will (2020). She comes from Wales but has made her home in Montreal since 2002.
__________________________________________________
MADE IN SURREY
by Greg Freeman
Music with exclamation marks.
Always in a hurry,
punching the words out
as if they could see
what was coming:
a kicking down the tube station
at midnight, rightwing meetings,
hooray Henrys, rumble of boots,
shows of strength, approaching
train in the tunnel, that
fearful light coming ever closer.
Despairing of the public
and what it wanted,
the right to buy council houses,
the end of the welfare state.
Staccato, crescendo. Infectious,
ominous drumbeat.
Joy and rage, and lyrical:
life could be beautiful, too,
the whole urban soul story.
Farewell to Stanley Road.
Goodbye to the riverbank
of the Wey,
the Basingstoke canal,
and Brookwood cemetery.
Stop thinking of the quiet life!
We arrived just
as you were leaving.
Mod but no need to be modest.
The pride of Woking!
Woking Poet - Greg Freeman
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