A home from home, now distant and yet familiar.
I could not reproduce it accurately, it’s been
so many years since I last played there as
a boy, however, objects, clips and scents
remain, impressions deeply embedded within.
Neatly pruned roses with subtle scents,
a maroon coloured football with white pentagons,
a fold up chair with padded back and handles,
a fence over which the neighbour and I would play,
and books of Brooke Bond Tea cards full of adventure.
The ghosts of a cat and Uncle L, their faces
blurred but their unseen presence looms large and real.
Chopping mint and adding vinegar for sauce,
roast lamb, potatoes and carefully cut carrots,
an after dinner butter mint stuck to the teeth.
How can it be almost half a century since I last played in my grandparents house in Bedford?
(20.11.24)
Ode for the Day 