Before we went to Rio
I chose a statue with a stallion in full motion
complete with rolling eyes
But no old white dude on its back brandishing a sword

The horse’s reins were held by lady justice
And the people clamoured and clambered over it like ants
Flying flags
Protesting oil prices
On the BBC

When we went to Rio
I bought two dead cows
and said thanks to them inside my head.
There wasn’t any room, any space, any time for any other way of doing it.

When we went to Rio, I soaked their hides in the shower,
I wore a bikini and rolled them up in plastic sheets overnight.
They stayed damp.
We felt like we were planning a murder
And the hotel room smelt like old cowboy boots

When we went to Rio
I had a statue chosen for me
with a stallion in full motion
complete with rolling eyes
and an old white dude on its back brandishing a sword
There wasn’t any room, any space, any time for any other way of doing it

We slung the damp hides
over the bronze wreath of the statue…
the one that hadn’t been ripped off the concrete
and sold for scrap.

We found lengths of timbre from a building site
and propped the hides up while I worked
And while they dried;
The director told me the old white dude was beloved
The history teacher told me he was viscious
I couldn’t fact check or verify
There wasn’t any room, any space, any time for any other way of doing it.

I felt like I needed armour,
I was frightened and we only had half the paperwork
I felt like I needed armour,
And the young policemen wanted my attention the whole day
And everyone was telling me
it was an amazing opportunity
And I felt like I needed armour from that too

A homeless man passed out in the sun
I thought we had murdered him
And we finished the sculpture
While his friends dragged him into the shade
And went to fetch him water
There wasn’t any room, any space, any time for any other way of doing it