Arrival
Today, I talked with a friend about death
and what it means to have arrived in my life
before I have to leave it, what it means
to be no longer waiting for my life to start.
I did wait, many decades and now – later than most,
earlier than some – it has started and I am living
the life I was unwittingly working towards.
It’s an uncanny sensation.
If I’d arrived earlier, as a baby say, if I’d coincided
with my happiness before now, the lines on my face
would be in a different place.
And now I know this is where I wanted to be,
it will make it harder, much harder, to leave.
But, at the same time, easier, for I will no longer
be my own unfinished business.
Rosie Jackson lives in Teignmouth, Devon. Her latest collection is Love Leans over the Table (Two Rivers Press, 2023). Widely published, Rosie has won many awards, including Commended in the Troubadour Competition 2024 and the National 2022. www.rosiejackson.org.uk