Gran’s Staircase
Her voice was ringing in my ears.
I was Violet Elizabeth Bott, screaming
and the burnt pan stood, unwashed,
on the draining board.
She’d go to and fro through
the shop door or into the kitchen
and, halfway up the stairs,
I’d be watching. In that house
I was always sick. Swallowing can be
so hard. You have no idea.
Carole Bromley has been widely published in magazines and anthologies and she has won a number of prizes, including the Bridport. Her first collection, A Guided Tour of the Ice House, was published by Smith/Doorstop in 2011.