Whoosh
(for Judith Farr Tormey)
There seems to be a pattern
Of stealth
Of furtive walking
Whispering on the phone
Tiptoeing
On the lily pad
A sudden hush
When the bird goes
Whoosh
In a flapless glide
The house cat, absurd, slinks
And lurks behind the chest
And in the nursery
Hide and seek grows sinister
Storm clouds swoop
The air grows greenish grey
When I touch the newsprint, it grates
Then comes the storm
The sea wind
Polished
My face
And sculpted
Small lines in the sand
Whipped foam
On the supernumerary waves
And changed the rhythm of the day’s
Walk
O elephant walk
Now we join arms
And lumber
Leaning in the wind
Slickers
Flapping
‘It was hard to take this pleasure
We are chilled
And long for brandy.’
O, so what
Even if so, what then…
There seems to be a pattern
Of stealth
Of furtive walking
Whispering on the phone
Tiptoeing
On the lily pad
A sudden hush
When the bird goes
Whoosh
In a flapless glide
The house cat, absurd, slinks
And lurks behind the chest
And in the nursery
Hide and seek grows sinister
Storm clouds swoop
The air grows greenish grey
When I touch the newsprint, it grates
Then comes the storm
The sea wind
Polished
My face
And sculpted
Small lines in the sand
Whipped foam
On the supernumerary waves
And changed the rhythm of the day’s
Walk
O elephant walk
Now we join arms
And lumber
Leaning in the wind
Slickers
Flapping
‘It was hard to take this pleasure
We are chilled
And long for brandy.’
O, so what
Even if so, what then…
Page(s) 64
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