As part of Spread the Word’s Lewisham, Borough of Literature campaign, four local writers were commissioned to create new work under the theme, ‘To All The Places I have Read’. The commissions were for writers of poetry or short stories, are aged 18+, currently living in Lewisham and from underrepresented backgrounds.

The Borough of Literature Commissions were printed, alongside Emerging Writer and Deaf and Disabled Writer commissions, in the Deptford Literature Fesitval Anthology.

Ode to a Bordertown by Amii Griffith

Welcome to a bordertown
Borderline personality disorientation
Disassocation
Post code switching
Don’t sound like the same kitchen
Bromley graduation
To borough appreciation
Blue borough
But part of the same black and white system

Welcome to the borderland
Days spent found
Lost in woodland landscapes
More home away from home
Then I ever was now
Cold BRrrr
To South East cool
4, 6, 23
And of course the 13 ward

Welcome to the borderline
Once villains
Places I’ve read for me
The antihero
Of my childhood dreams
Leading the grass is greener initiative
On both sides of the fence
But only one side won

My heart in the end

Welcome to border control
Toe tipped one foot over
Blue borough Green with envy
Made to believe
We should aspire to this destiny
Welcome to my Lewisham
Where I fantasise about a knighthood
Never was a bookworm
But was a steal to make me learn

Welcome to Downham
Blue borough – Green postcode – Brown face
Educated race // To the bottom
But we come up swinging
Because some mothers do got ‘em
Never bored of us
Borderless
And this is all for us

About Amii Griffith

Amii is a Lewisham-born multidisciplinary writer who has been working across stage and screen for over a decade. Amii won the Lewisham, Borough of Culture 2022 Your Words Your Lyrics Your Story spoken word competition and was recently published in Middleground Magazine for poets of mixed heritage. She has performed at the Actors’ Church for a celebration of Noël Coward works, the Blue Plaque unveiling of Richard Price and Catford Pride. Amii is a Soho Theatre Writers’ Lab alumni and Film London short film fund recipient. She recently graduated from Goldsmiths with a masters in Script Writing and is currently on the BFI funded Trans+ on Screen script writers’ development lab.