I turn in circles

Training rest-day ... back to running tomorrow morning!

Meantime, here's a poem from the 1993 pictured (debut) collection of Stephen Knight:


The Gift

My parcel was delivered to the college
Thoroughly packaged, like an only child.
I tear my father’s beautifully-written note
(Please acknowledge receipt, Love Mum & Dad)
Then fold the wrapping for possible re-use.
A breeze laps the posters crusting the wall;
Like lily pads, they compete to face the light.

I bump into Philip inside the Lodge.
He asks to see the gift – another four-sleeved
Pullover! Raising it shoulder-high,
He teases me about the additional arms
Till I make my excuses and leave him
At the pigeonholes to scurry to my room.

I lay the jumper on my coverlet
And step back to survey the lively design –
Summery shades of green and blue in bars
A centimetre wide around the middle;
And seagulls, too. Trying it on
Before My full-length mirror, I turn in circles
Like a weather-vane. The sleeves rotate with me!

Dizzier than Lewis Carroll’s Alice,
I finish instead an essay due at six ...
My sides itch as I write. Just below the ribs,
Above my pelvis, carpal bones, knuckles,
And ten fingernails push through the flesh like roots.
Should I telephone home, or should I wait?

---

Stephen Knight (1960 - )