Funny little people, doing funny little things, like
Funny little people, filing gently into a stadium
Funny little people standing up, folding their seats to let strangers waddle to their own
Funny little people queuing politely, not pushing or shoving or rushing to enter
Funny little people waving their arms in unison, following the lead of others around them
Funny little people rising to create a Mexican wave across the three levels of the stadium
Funny little people cheering the other levels on when it wasn’t their turn
Funny little people clapping for the strangers pulled on stage
Funny little people chatting to neighbours they had never previously met
Funny little people laughing and cheering when someone danced for one of the cameras
Funny little people dancing together like friends reuniting
Funny little people crying in welcome to four artists they had probably never met
Funny little people singing as if the people next to them couldn’t hear them
Funny little people crying for a stranger who sang for their late friend
Funny little people waving at each other from a distance
Funny little people flashing the lights on their phones to signal to friends
Funny little people taking photos together
Funny little people helping each other find the station
Funny little people guiding each other onto the right platforms
Funny little people making space for one another on the carriages
Funny little people making conversation on where they came from, and where they’re going
Funny little people sharing which songs were their favourite
Funny little people all wishing for their beds
Funny little people, doing funny little human things
Funny little people, who remind me that the world is not always a bad place
©Rosie Bramwell, 2023
This poem was longlisted as part of the Kinship: Poems Exploring Belonging project. Click here to find out more about the project, and other poems on the longlist here.
Kinship
Concepts of belonging and community have constantly evolving definitions, and have been at the centre of fierce debate in recent years. The first twenty-three years of the new millennium have seen a rise in rhetoric aimed at those without the voice to argue back, and waves of toxic abuse have proliferated – and genocide. How relevant, then, to unite and raise our voices, to celebrate the rich tapestry of humanity, and to explore the labels we use to identify and express ourselves.
Kinship is a poetry anthology that seeks to provide a platform for marginalised voices, and to celebrate the great diversity and rich variation in the identities of people from around the world and from a huge cross-section of walks of life.
Click here for the anthology of shortlisted poems.