Ides of March

It was the Ides of March
You know, the fifteenth
Soothsayer's whispered warnings went unheeded
I'm my own brutal Brutus
Left shoeless and bleeding
Toothaches and disturbed sleeping
Debts need redressing
I get that
Regrets need regretting
I've learnt how
In my cramped kitchenette
Got a letter through the door
That I should have ignored
Addressed to Paul
In felt tip scrawl
The flat's previous renter
Absent now
NFA
Left debts on the key
For the gas and for the electricity

When I opened it up
It just said
'Paul it's time to make amends to your friends, meet a guy name Chris at 6 on the 15th
And he'll tell you what to do'

Well I'm curious by nature
It's clear that Paul's a stranger to Chris
And that day was the 15th
The PS said to meet at The Pits
A quiet spot
Where kids ride reckless on BMX and scooters
I loved the TV sleuths first and dress like Frank Columbo
Taking a walk to think it over
Spy a card in the convenience store in the same felt tip scrawl
Selling a crystal ball and a lawnmower
It feels like a joke or a set up
My eyeballs ache
But I make the call.
"Hello, Clairvoyant Carl, would you like to make an appointment"
I've explained yes my Grandma is dead and no
She didn't have a dog or a cat large or small at any time
Before I think to ask about Chris
Carl replies quietly
"Beware of this Chris, he'll hurt you"
And asks again about an appointment
Which I politely decline

I should wind my neck in
Watch my back
Consider my next of kin
Stop in,
Watch 90s sitcoms
Snooze on through to the Tyne Tees news
Forget my problems
I fell in love once on the dodgems
Tie myself tight in my rain mac
Walk on by in stride to my backpack rap

The only things Paul left in the flat
Were a flat cap and a bracelet of blue glass
I rarely find a hat that suits
But this one's a candidate that I've being trying out
The bracelet too
Gives me something new

So I knew it wasn't wise
But I thought I'd keep my distance
Paul was involved in some weird stuff
Occult carvings on the walls
This mystic's message through the door
Six was sunset
It could have been a ritual a bloodletting
Or a pagan healing
A shaking feeling in my legs as I took the path along the top
Expecting wizards and warlocks
Instead there's a kid on a moped swinging a chain
Try to creep away but I cast a long shadow in the evening's final light
He yells out "that's Chell's bracelet you flat-capped dink"
And before I know it I'm hit and in a ditch in the dark

It was the Ides of March
You know, the fifteenth
Soothsayer's whispered
Warnings went unheeded
I'm my own brutal Brutus
Left shoeless and bleeding
Toothaches and disturbed sleeping