The Future
My children think they know you
as they prepare statements
to gain entry into the next
of what you have in store.
They return each night
with requests for homework and parties
which bulge in their bags indistinguishably.
Perhaps you look on them kindly
as an uncle they see once a year
slipping them money through his goodbyes.
You place an arm round their shoulders
watching them pay for goods they cannot afford.
You speak to them with kindness,
sending them messages of hope
which pass your lips in silence
even though you are smiling.
Anthony Wilson is editor of Lifesaving Poems (Bloodaxe, 2015), based on his blog of the same name. His other books include Riddance (Worple Press, 2012) and a memoir of cancer, Love for Now (Impress Books, 2012). He blogs at www.anthonywilsonpoetry.com Twitter: @awilsonpoet