Two Inches to the Right by Matt Frodsham

Mat Lloyd wrote this poem on a canvas with a marker pen the morning after he was attacked. The night before he was in his local park on the opening day of the skate park hed helped get built, it was nearly midnight.

"We'd organised a DJ to play the day out in a marquee and I just popped out to take a leak. In my drunken state I was stumbling to find a bush when I heard, and felt, a sort of 'boink' sound. I knew I'd been hit on the back of the head, and I knew it wasn't with a fist. I don't remember much else other than being back at the marquee with a bleeding head.

I was very lucky as a number of my friends and other revelers had spotted me being kicked on the floor and ran over to drag me out. For that I am very grateful.

Living near London, the poem has never been retired and still appears in my performance sets. With youth violence seemingly growing year on year, the poem is as relevant now as it was when I wrote it. People blame hip hop culture, movies, video games, parents, the education system, unemployment, the list goes on. I don't have the answer.

The saddest thing about "2 Inches to the Right" is all to often, someone from the crowd comes to speak to me after I leave the stage and tells me of their friend who died in a similar situation. The poem gives them hope that some may listen, and think twice."

credits:

animation by Matt Frodsham  |  email   |  website

words by Mat Lloyd  |  website