A dream of
karaoke academies

with tongue lashings
of culture coding –

fried rote learning in
chicken-shop songs.

In shaved lines of
panoptic surveillance

verbal canes
whip their singing

but accept an ethnic
fringe: barbering

this barbarousness.
Staff screaming in a

takeaway after school
is in its glass frontage.

Outside the democratic
this is enforcement

is military investigation
is constantly monitored

is suffused to intervene
is chicken representing

poor choice.
Almost uniforms

are mythical qualities
of poor choice,

suede knowledge
not rote fried.

This is the dream of
chicken shop singing

crossing its road
just for this melody.

Source: ‘Little Robots’: behind the scenes at an academy school, University of Cambridge, here.