Moving on
On each wall I left a mark
scoring my name through paper and paste
On the bannister I scratched my initials
carving out my childhood
I said goodbye to the cats
and the mice
both long buried in mother's shoeboxes
And rocking in my grandad's chair
I listened to his laugh
I stroked the 'O' shaped stain
on the dining table
that is my dad's sleeping mouth
branded by his mug forever
In the garden I picked the last of the brambles
and hugged the lilac tree
Peering though the shed windows
I saw pieces of my past
reflected in my future
The flyover now spans the plot of land
and the postage stamp of soil that
founded my family
bears no relation
From the bus I see the tree uprooted
has disappeared
and new saplings all in a row
bend in the wind
So when I walked into your flat
and looked out the back to see
a familiar shade
and twisted around the bark
a bush bearing sweet black berries
I knew
