The morning after we celebrated your birthday
the wind turned mild;
Wild daffodils rocked like dreaming children
beside the quiet river;
Skeletal trees ducked and weaved under clouds
That drifted silent as swans.
Winter had slippered off for an early sleep over
On the peaks of far away mountains.
And then, as was usual at this time of year,
Numerous rumours awoke and swiftly flourished
Among old wives crouched around the camp fire;
A cornucopia of worried Fortune Tellers
Whispering informally together.-
The phoenix was seen alive upon a Monday,
She zig zagged through a galaxy of branches
To scorch dead wood; scintillate the nascent blossom
Into life with sacred fire.
A unicorn, tamed by a young girl`s simple kindness,
Pranced in a distant meadow for one whole Sunday,
Then misted away in a trice like April snow.
A dog faced boy was found half dead in a cellar;
A wolf brought shame on a black eyed red cloaked virgin;
A milch cow cited Homer to the vicar;
A cockerel outmanoeuvred a ravenous vixen;
A horse gave birth to a cat.
Tall tales that were clutched to old hearts like tainted silver
Now that the cold time was over.
But we could not rest, you and I.
We could not hide our fears in a corner.
We had known too much pain
that morning in early December
When the surgery failed to save
Our unborn daughter.
We could not join the dreamers, you and I,
But remained inside your ancient Gypsy Wagon
Curled up tight together
Listening to the changes in the weather:
Anticipating a knock of muffled heartbeats;
Your doctor`s benediction; a nascent tear;
A sharp kick in the belly;
The new life turning, yearning deep within you,
The longed for twins conceived so quickly after
The passing of their sister.
We do not care for the strange talk of the dreamers:
This new, unexpected, late in life reality
Demands our full attention.
Trevor John Karsavin Potter.
September 5th. - 6th. - 9th. 2013. From an idea sketched March 10th. 2011.
October 21st.2013.
Prefered rewritten version published June 15th. 2016..
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