Streatham Ice Rink
Will Hatchett
Learning how to skate requires
An act of faith that you
Are not going to collide
The chipped concrete and scuffed paint
Are a makeshift world
Neither inside nor outside
Being afraid is what makes
My arms flap and windmill
And this causes me to fall
The fear is self-fulfilling
I am waiting to crash
Just as I have done before
Children do not know this dread
Of an unknown future
Graceful and elemental
They circle the shining lake
There is nothing in front
As they pirouette and slide
The rink in Streatham, in South London is the only Olympic-size ice rink in London. It is also the home stadium of a couple of professional ice hockey teams.
