You wear suits in the week.
Your arms are coat hangers you wish
you said No thanks to when the shop assistant
asked if you wanted to keep them.
Your lunchbox has fewer Penguin Bars
than you imagined when your parents said
Get a job and you can eat what you like.
When lorry drivers let you cross the road
in the mornings you wave with all of your palm
in the hope people did the same to your Dad.
It’s hard work walking up that hill
when you’ve had no sleep, but there’s one smile
waiting next to your desk. Ten years later
he will text you a football trivia question
completely unaware he saved your life.

© Carl Burkitt 2021