Morning

On a morning busy with breakfast
I sneak in a moment
to lie next to M,
his small body moving
in tune with his breath.
I breathe in his hair
still
fragrant
from last night’s bath
the pink of the wash
lingers on the soft, soft
strands.
One slightly dirty
fingernail peeks from under the
pillow
where his hand rests, open,
searching perhaps for the
warmth
that used to be me.

A haiku for Kate

Teletubbies sing

You sit on my lap, content

Hasty haiku flows

 

A revised version of the haiku written for Kate Hopper’s Mother Words Contest.

Gift

You’ve taken to sleeping
anchored by my chin
head under my clavicle
turned in
to feel my pulse
lulling you to sleep

your arms wrapped around me
like an early Christmas present.

{aros} Midnight whispers

Two stray dogs chase each other madly
at midnight
They stop at the little garden, look at me,
then whisper in each other’s ears conspiratorially

Do they know I’m watching?

{aros} On duty

A lone sentry
walks around the block
peaked cap and navy cardigan his
only company.

{aros} Breezy

Shiny blue pinwheel
bleached silver by the sun
turns giddily in a little pot.

round and round and round
and round and round and round.

{aros} Going home

Four seagulls make their way home
whipped cream against a silver sky
Two and Two, they glide into the setting sun
their feathers rose-pink, as they fly.

{aros} Sleep

At sunset, a hundred
sparrows
tiny
swoosh down in a gulp of brown feathers
hide behind the flood of fresh
frangipani blossoms.

{aros} Bus, stop!

That green bus, chartreuse,
roars by on the hour.

Our flimsy antique windows shudder.

{aros} Morning

A carpet of frangipani blooms
white, impossibly fragrant petals
buttercup yellow centres
a rim of brown kohl round
the edge
a hangover from being out in the
cold all night.