My eyes tell the mirror they’re older
than they are and the glass whispers
to look somewhere else, cook an egg,
paint the clouds with a made up colour,
learn to tap your fingers and feet
to different beats, pretend your comb is
a harmonica, be a boat, swim
in your sleep, write a joke on a receipt
and hide it in your wallet, pickle some gherkins, wash your hands with mud,
tell someone something, wear fluffy socks,
open the curtains, crack your neck loudly,
watch Bob Mortimer standing in a river
inventing sentences that need jotting down.

© Carl Burkitt 2022