A pint for your birthday
will be swallowed without question.
But this year I will bathe my baby before bed.
As I let the water wash over 4-week-old fingers
I will imagine who he will sit with on a school bus.
I will imagine who will copy his German homework.
I will imagine him being a below average goalkeeper.
I will imagine him asking me to learn to ride a moped.
I will imagine him all over the local news
and the two grey hairs in my beard will be a sad man
standing behind a plinth reading memories.
Tonight your dad will set off fireworks at home
while I grab a dry towel and get used to now sharing
more in common with him than I did with you.

© Carl Burkitt 2020