Stones for the River

Wednesday, June 19, 2019

‘I’m nearly ready,’ she says,

‘to wear my Ugg boots outdoors.’

(I think she refers to the extreme cold,

but) her words have me discover:

I’m either eccentric or daring!

I open my door to a cool clear morning – the mountain carved, sharp-edged.

Blooming in sub-tropic winter: geraniums with deep red petals.

Late afternoon light.

Schoolchildren, bags on their backs,

begin traipsing home.

With just a small shift of position, the window shows trees or blank walls.

My garden now empty of the cat who loved it – yet still full of her.

Scattered now – my mother's neatly tied and ordered bundles of letters.