The extension of the house down the road
has different coloured bricks than the rest of the
building. The numberplate I just saw ended in CAT
and I welled up because the car wasn’t a Jaguar.
I get tired sometimes
like a jigsaw puzzle with the wrong picture.
Someone told my son the other day
to avoid the cracks in the road when walking.
It’s a fun game, they said. My bones saw his
sigh at his new lifelong curse.

© Carl Burkitt 2023