The No-Smoking Man

Have you seen him-
the No-Smoking man?

He walks a plastic- covered prow,
steers the overladen vessel,
noses over Runcorn Bridge
at five knots per hour;
pushes bike, message and self,
hidebound, safety bound,
plastic leggings bound
by lassie bands, safety bands,
sending No-Smoking signals.

The No-Smoking man
crouches under Cooper’s Wine Bar,
scratches out lattice-work letters
on a permanently disintegrating
note-pad,
(no-smoking signs hanging
in his plastic hide while he sits
on a flammable pile of cardboard)
ready to go up in smoke

I saw him on the Queensferry By-Pass
I saw him on the Old Chester Road.
I saw him in Helsby.
I saw him in Widnes.
I saw him on The Runcorn Bridge.

I haven't seen him recently.