Brain drip

On the way there, I barely notice cars
stuck in side streets or bikes swanning past,
their riders calling out: Don’t drive to the festival!
Green, white and red flags are wind-tossed sentences
sailing above the roofs on Great North Road,
free from punctuation. A winter-blue sky frames
the small stage, where one boy and many girls
dance Alice & Co in a hip-hop Wonderland.
Queen of Hearts struts, steers Red Knights –
pepper-red and salt-white. While we applaud
a man turns to me with proudest eyes: The boy’s mine.

I had always known that there was something ‘abnormal’ about myself, something that was a little off-kilter. I can’t quite grasp whether this manifested as positive or negative, but I know that I didn’t fit in; my early memories are that of being a square peg, an unfortunate position. Unfortunate because society offered me naught but a round hole.

I am binding myself to these trees
my side will stay pressed
tight and strong to coarse
and dark bark...

An ever-increasing lack of dexterity had Patricia still tying her dressing gown as she shuffled into the kitchen, a task she used to be able to complete before the end of the hallway, and before then the bedroom door. 

His guts churn something shocking, so he reaches for the pills and washes down a couple with a good clump of spit. The knot loosens, relief flushes. The kitchen sink is clean. Did the dishes last night. Do the dishes and wake up to a clean caravan. New man, new decisions. Sign of things to come. 

The sun chases him over the mattress until one more roll will see him face plant the floor. Been a while since it’s had a mop. Plus, imagine yelling out to the other long termers and asking to help lift him up: all six-four inches and a hundred odd kilos. 

Snow crunched under thick boots, compressing into the earth as I trekked further north. I raised my scarf against the breeze sweeping through the trees that brought a frostbite chill to my nose. Not much further; it should start soon. A thump to the left caused me to turn sharply; the only sound besides the wind and my own footsteps. The branch of a tree had been strained too long, finally releasing the built up snow weighing it down. I was unclear why; the wind wandered its way through the forest carrying not a single snowflake.