Squall In Soho Poem by C Richard Miles

On Cambridge Circus
Amongst loud-shouting lights,
A sudden, soaking squall
Enforces drifting visitors
To scuttle, cockroach-like,
To seek their shelter
In seedy restaurants
And louche clubs.
But sullen cigarette smokers
Are banished to the outside
And cower in doorways
Or perhaps a porch
For a drag of tobacco
To warm rain-chilled carcases,
Before they, too, give in.
Defeated by the blast,
Entering reluctantly,
Hermit-crab-like,
The smoke-free haunts
To search for safety
Far from Soho’s storms.