04-23-2016, 04:53 AM
I told them I hurt myself skating
The rink’s Tannoy speakers echoed
‘Rambling Rose’ over the hum
of rubber wheels on concrete
and the ssshh …ssshh …
of waves turning shingle
along the beach below
where we moved awkwardly.
It hurt. The shadows
left me stone-bruised.
I didn’t want to talk
afterwards, hid from him
in the Ladies.
Do I look different?
Am I a woman now?
My parents collected me
as arranged, full of news;
Kennedy’s death in Dallas.
Later I learned we lost C S Lewis
and Aldous Huxley too
that same night.
The rink’s Tannoy speakers echoed
‘Rambling Rose’ over the hum
of rubber wheels on concrete
and the ssshh …ssshh …
of waves turning shingle
along the beach below
where we moved awkwardly.
It hurt. The shadows
left me stone-bruised.
I didn’t want to talk
afterwards, hid from him
in the Ladies.
Do I look different?
Am I a woman now?
My parents collected me
as arranged, full of news;
Kennedy’s death in Dallas.
Later I learned we lost C S Lewis
and Aldous Huxley too
that same night.