Where’s Dolly?
Worried she looks everywhere,
spots silly Teddy hiding under
the pillow. But Dolly isn’t there.
Mummy said to pick one toy, but
she struggles to leave cuddly pals.
She can’t ask Daddy. He hunts,
muttering. Papers, they’re here.
Passports, must find them. Must.
The noise again, that horrid monster
howling. It really scares Dolly.
Mummy is packing. Holiday!
Mummy did talk about shells.
She must tell Dolly. The seaside,
not down in the inky underground.
If only those nasty noises would stop.
Outage / outrage
.
Black ribbon in a prayer book,
mothballs in granny’s woollens,
mice in a sharp trap, it slips
into the News, slides between
bombings, safety corridors.
No power at Chernobyl. No
cooling of radioactive material.
Slicing onions I sense storm
clouds dispersing over Europe.
Finola Scott
.