Christopher Allan
Siesta
The resident cat having lapped
at the given bowl
tidies herself
into a glove of shadow
Insect chainsaws rasp
for want of oil
The only thing that moves
beyond the balcony
is a butterfly
large as a child’s hand
The seven of spades
fallen on the marble
will not rejoin the pack
until evening
You ask about the skirt
you should wear
the blue or the amber
for swordfish and wine
under a tent of stars
I am too sleepy to choose
or weigh for you
one colour against another
am dropping fast
like a displaced card
into a drowse
The cling-clang of tin bells
noosing the necks of sheep
ten thousand cicadas
the wash of remembered sea
all lightly sound
run distant
through a birdless dawn
Then your voice spills softly
its welcome water
‘Are you awake yet?’
I check my wrist
nearly five-thirty
You have slipped the card back
where it belongs
and the tabby has disappeared
into the dusty heat
Balanced on the balcony rail
the beach towels begin to stir
The one lifts again and again
catching my attention
It is a blue one
like the skirt you have chosen
Page(s) 140-141
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