Mary MacRae
Appointment
The day I kept the first appointment
a large black crow in a tree
cawed as I walked out of the car park -
a clichéd augury.
It only took an hour to tell
me what I didn’t know -
the one exam I’ve ever failed -
a sudden, cruel blow.
When I came out the day had slipped,
the light was out of gear,
something rhymed which shouldn’t have done,
I shrugged away a stare
and hurried on; under a lamp
I saw my shadow grow
and overtake me, stretch ahead
as black as any crow.
Page(s) 34
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