A new life
A pink straw hat
too long hung
behind the bedroom door
contemplates a new life.
Its owner lying
on the bed, ungainly
as a hippo, writhes...
checking times before
the next wave arrives.
Forgotten now, it seems,
months of commands
exhortations, demands
delivered by a draconian
midwife - who tells tales
of new mothers fussing
You'd think they
were being murdered
she complains.
Strange:
that this third party
is here...yet...
not come through
the bedroom door.
Odd:
how the midwife
soon to to re-wed a long
discarded husband
reaches
for the pink straw hat.
“Being at home can be fun, insulating, relaxed, boring or isolating ... depending on how the day is going.”*
School holidays are almost over in my part of the world – six long weeks of noise and squabbling balanced by hot, lazy days at the beach or the pool with lots of daring exploits and laughter. Many of our days were spent at home, basking in simple pleasures like baking, playing games or outdoor pursuits – trying to relax the everyday routines of school-morning bustle and ‘having to be somewhere on time’. However pleasant, I must admit to being relieved that life gets back to normal next week, and I can reclaim some of my own time for writing again!
* From Being Mummy by Anne‑marie Taplin published April 2007