The Trawl, 1979

My new thing was
collecting records, or
vinyls as we now have to call them ffs
you people make me sick

There were Record Fairs where
collectors gathered in fusty
church halls
to part with their cash after
flicking through
boxes stuffed with
trash and treasures

At my first one, armed
with all my pocket money
    a teenage fiend
    hungry for relics,
I scored nine well-used items
for an absurd £13 (and my poor
mother provided £3 of that)

        Paranoid

        Aoxomoxoa

        Surrealistic Pillow

        After the Gold Rush

        In Search of Space

        Safe as Milk

        Strange Days

        Hot Rats

        Yes (self-titled)

I was well into being a
suburban hippy for a few months
before many other
phases of the moon
and I stand by every one

Of course now, as an ancient,
olden and also aged man
    my eyes are dim
    my back is bent
    my knees are knacked

I am looking to sell my collection
  clear some space
    maybe
      keep a 100 'vinyls'
        you people make me sick
and these will form part of that 100

In Search of Space
has the original 'gimmix' sleeve and
24pp booklet, so that's not going
anywhere, even if
I have nothing to play it on