Marilyn Longstaff
Maybank Road, Plymouth
The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God (Deuteronomy 22:5)
Mum’s bedroom breathes the doze of Californian Poppy
the damp of Izal lingers in the outside lav
kitchen exhales the scent of tinned tomatoes
and cheese on toast
flap of washing stretches across the silence
of carless, cobbled, rubbish-free back lane
and Mrs Pentecost is shrieking for Diane
I don’t remember rain
in secret I’m wearing Marks and Spencer’s trousers
conspiracy with Mum in seersucker blue
my first - three quarter length and banned by Dad
as anti-scriptural
our front door opens straight onto the long steep terrace
with Salisbury Road Juniors at the top, scholarship class
the chosen forty, my favourite hymn
(in minor) God is Love
Page(s) 58
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