M40

About M40

The M40 between Warwick and Bicester is a stretch of road all too familiar to the poet, who regularly travels to Bournemouth to visit their partner. On one such journey, travelling through the night amid Saturday night traffic, Vance passed the time by composing a poem inspired by the stream of headlights, a sight much beloved by their late brother.

​

For the poet, a staple of such journeys is musical soundtracks, especially Les Misérables and Hamilton. The final stanza of the poem evokes the rallying cry in Les Mis, while the repetition of lines from earlier stanzas mimics a returning chorus.

​

The recording of this poem was made on the M40 itself; unable to scribe lines while driving, the poet instead recorded their poetry on their phone.