August 2023
(for Marlene)
We’re homeless and adrift, if only for the time
it takes to reach our new house, so farewell
to neighbours Neil & Co, who stood us so well
down the decades. They’re still in their prime
as we join the unforgiving ranks of those old
enough to pity for their paltry grasp at living.
But there’ll be our girls nearby, so adept at giving
a sense of urgent life to our tenuous hold
on all we once held dear. They’re on their way
to growing up as we grow down, but for now
they redeem our waning world and they show how
to steal the precious moment in every fleeting day.
