and I tell you we were playing badminton.
You were a grown up with arms like your uncle’s
and a smile surrounded by a beard thicker than mine.
You were beating me and I was out of breath
but we’d organised a 5km run together
after our match and you were desperate
to drive me somewhere in your red car.
You wanted to choose the music
and make me my favourite pizza
in your house with a garden and three cats.
You had a dream
you went on a train with your mummy.

Carl Burkitt 2024

Written while listening to ‘You Make My Dreams (Come True)’ by Hall & Oates.