Forecasts of Flight
Stripping wallpaper
leaves naked the scrawls
of yesteryear’s children,
small forecasts of flights
that are inevitable.
Youthful skill teasing
dreams of rocket ships,
large soaring birds,
treasure islands,
galloping horses,
and measurements of growth.
We will save them
behind new covering,
seal past in present
to keep for future.
Now I watch a small tear
confess on your face
worries we’ve shared
in their growing years
that can’t be hidden,
and come free for parents,
but cost a lifetime
of a sort of hunger
that’s made-to-measure.
Gordon Scapens has been widely published over many years in numerous magazines, journals, anthologies and competitions, most recently won first prize in the Brian Nisbet poetry award. His latest book is ‘History Doesn’t Die’