Official Guidance

We have prepared a statement for the evening air We have revised the wording twice for calm There are unusual lights above the western ring road No cause for sudden movement or alarm Remain indoors and wait for further guidance Do not approach descending points of flame Do not circulate unverified conclusions Do not attach intention to the shapes Keep the curtains half-drawn Keep the children away from the glass Keep your handset charged Keep receiving the broadcast Official guidance Read slowly, read clean The sky is opening As if it's only weather on a screen Official guidance Steady voice, steady hand But no one hears a siren That has been softened into bland At petrol stations people keep on talking At traffic lights the filming has begun Outside the pubs they point their phones upward And laugh the kind of laugh that means they're done A woman says it's viral misdirection A man says it's a drill before the tax A boy in headphones watches something burning Then shrugs and asks his friend what channel's next Keep the roads uncongested Keep your breathing low and slow Keep to your households Keep awaiting what we know Official guidance Read slowly, read clean The sky is opening As if it's only weather on a screen Official guidance Measured tone, level chin But no one comes to language That no longer lets them in We have prepared for panic We have prepared for fear We have prepared the phrasing For persuading what will hear We have not prepared for laughter We have not prepared for this For the flat and vacant silence After every warning hits Official guidance Read clearly, read late The dark is over rooftops now And pressing on the gate Official guidance Read clearly, read late The sky leans down to meet us And still we read the plan Remain indoors Await instruction Remain indoors Remain