The Red Sloop In the Harbour
On very grey days
if someone asked me unwisely
"How are you?"
I might tell the truth
that my Mother has cancer
of the egg basket
and it might come to me
and I'm still mid divorce
and haven't yet bought a house
and house prices here have risen
by 20 percent in a year
and next week I'm letting science loose
doing things with tubes to my tubes
just in case
and when I looked you up
you had a new venture with your wife
the couple this,the couple that
I try to imagine I was Anne Sextons
red sloop in the harbour to you
a bright red luxury hung always within view
because of its value and quality of light
a watercolour that never washed off
