The gaudy tin ...

I'm eighty eight she said -

My daughter wants me to go in a home -

I don't want to go into a home -

Look, there's my kitchen -

See - 

And my hair - I've just had it done -


I looked at the sparkling work top -

The neat hair -

The calendar on the wall -


My eyes pricked with tears -

There they were -

All the days crossed out -

One by one -


I saw the willow pattern plate -

Three biscuits from the gaudy tin -

The house all around her like the empty sea -


November 2019