Robertson's

The heat haze from the fire
was joining that of the sweltering day
as the man added another item to the fire
           from his late father's detritus.
                             Stuff left over
that even the Charity shops had rejected.
He opened an old cigar box
       and there they lay
               a hundred paper gollies
collected from the marmalade his father ate;
       the only thing, and brand,
                                  Robertson's,
he ever took for breakfast.
            A gust of wind 
suddenly caught the paper tokens
carrying them high in the air
              dispersing them far afield.
The man thought
it was enough his neighbors would be 
     complaining about the smoke.
              Now, there will be little mementos
       of bygone attitudes
           landing
               in their flower beds,
                    on their conservatory windows,
                          floating in their ornamental ponds.
He looked down at his daughter
one had landed, stuck to her dew sweat arm.
            A tennis player wielding a racket
                      his black smiling face
                            a Grand Slam winner!
    She looked at it, and her father
           with equal disdain
                    tore off the golly
       turned her back
walked away 
to wait with her mother
                  in the air-conditioned car.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2025

Poem

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Rodrigues Avatar
April 11, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Quite the story teller…capturing characters in a glorious way!
Miller Avatar
April 11, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Thank you Kim
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