Ladybird, Ladybird
She did not
exactly glow
at the mention of my name
her hands
did strange things
around her throat
she tested
the strength of one leg
then the other
considered the world
to the left
and the right of her
I offered no gesture
of re-assurance
I am not like that
she wanted to know
how far I’d traveled
as though
no amount of poetry
could convince her
I
had been inside her all this time
invisible and all-encompassing
as the space between two words
this is a bad time
she whispered pertly
She did not
exactly glow
at the mention of my name
her hands
did strange things
around her throat
she tested
the strength of one leg
then the other
considered the world
to the left
and the right of her
I offered no gesture
of re-assurance
I am not like that
she wanted to know
how far I’d traveled
as though
no amount of poetry
could convince her
I
had been inside her all this time
invisible and all-encompassing
as the space between two words
this is a bad time
she whispered pertly
as though to a newborn.
Justin Lowe
(first published in 'Glass Poems')
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