In from Ontario to have me,
she rooms in a floral,
threadbare situation
in strange Scotland,
picking up chanting
from Infants and Juveniles,
and pigtailed little madams
shoo-ing away
clodhopping brogues
from elaborate elastics
and hopscotch plotted
in chalk mark.
She samples the songs of
pat-a-cake in action.
She is handsome, she is pretty,
She is the flower of the golden city.
She’s seven months seeded,
sitting out playtime
perched on the edge
of a tartan coverlet
wishing the quilt
and pillow would muffle
anxious appointments,
obligations pressing upon her
and pressing within her
till she can skip over
this rope again forever.
Roy Moller is a poet and songwriter who lives in Dunbar on the east coast of Scotland. He is the author of the short-run collection Imports and his work has been featured in the anthologies The Sea (Rebel Poetry) and Neu! Reekie! UntitledTwo. His musical works include My Week Beats Your Year, described by Louder Than War as “profoundly moving and inspirational”. His website is www.roymoller.com.
Foxglove Journal 