This poem is taken from PN Review 271, Volume 49 Number 5, May - June 2023.
Four Poems
Great Auntie Nicey
(‘No, not Nicey, it’s Eunice, pronounced Eunicey, as in the Greek’)
It’s not for long – she can’t get out – she’s asked for you.
Straighten her cushions, talk to her.
So I’m imprisoned too.
She winces as I try to shift her pain –
not there, that’s worse. I drop the cushion.
Clock hands creak. Nothing to say.
The boys are playing war outside – half naked, free.
Sit properly – not ladylike to loll about….
Boredom. Jaw aches. And hours till tea.
Well then – her breath a fog – d’you want to play?
She means the Chinese cabinet. I fumble
at its tiny doors. Now I can look away.
Open it – careful – you’re much too rough,
there’s something for you. Look inside.
...
(‘No, not Nicey, it’s Eunice, pronounced Eunicey, as in the Greek’)
It’s not for long – she can’t get out – she’s asked for you.
Straighten her cushions, talk to her.
So I’m imprisoned too.
She winces as I try to shift her pain –
not there, that’s worse. I drop the cushion.
Clock hands creak. Nothing to say.
The boys are playing war outside – half naked, free.
Sit properly – not ladylike to loll about….
Boredom. Jaw aches. And hours till tea.
Well then – her breath a fog – d’you want to play?
She means the Chinese cabinet. I fumble
at its tiny doors. Now I can look away.
Open it – careful – you’re much too rough,
there’s something for you. Look inside.
...
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