And I Cried Like a Girl
And I cried like a girl
when a body is pulled out of a river, or
the sea,” it’s just like a big piece of soap”
my dad told me, a police-man for thirty years
who battled drunken Scotsmen and the cost of
living and brought us all up
and he told me he could drive drunk because he had
“the badge of immunity” because they all looked after each other
(as if we didn’t know)
then, he began to die and it took a long time
covered in sores and oxygen to die (Jesus!)
and he looked at me and said,” this is what
you’ve got to look forward to”
then he added “when we were young we
were afraid of no man”, and he sucked desperately at
the oxygen and his face was red and puffed
and I wanted to call out “dad! dad!”
and he lay in a river of pillows (like a Viking)
but he was dead
and I cried like a girl and kissed my brother
and mum and sisters
and my brother’s crew cut was spiky
my sisters and mum’s hair was soft and perfumed
and police men are looking younger
and they
pull soap out of rivers, make love
and get drunk and fight everyone …
and then one day they lie in a river of pillows
and say “we were afraid of no man”
Copyright © Peter Lewis Holmes | Year Posted 2015
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