Plum Tree

 

Thin, wiry child

Daredevil, darter outer

Jumper from high places

Eyes filming at warnings

 

Jesse called m “Sweety-pie mommy”

Told me as we walked up the hill to school

“The fun-est time in my life

Was when me and Daniel climbed the

Wiltshire’s tree and picked plums

They tasted so sweet in my mouth

And Daniel

I love Daniel

I wish it could be like that

Just me and him.”

 

Bark, leaves, sky

Big brother

Draped on the limb above

While Jesse sits with

Mouth open

A baby bird in a soft nest

 

 

Brighton Baths

 

Like a fairy

I wore water wings and

Trailed after my aunt

Through the labyrinth of lockers

To that blue walled court

Where naked women lounged

The sun blackening

Their hanging bellies

Their swinging breasts

And raisin nipples

They glance at me and laughed

As if one day, I’d be like them