so I started filling it with hilarious observations
and encounters. Things like the time a dog
in the park had the same name as my mate
and how my mate sat down when the owner yelled
Sit! And when a toddler in the cafe ask if I was
Father Christmas. And when a bloke in the pub
didn’t hear himself fart. And how yesterday’s
cloud looked like my maths teacher’s hair.
And the gentle way my son says Soap
when he means to say So. And the way I enjoy
the sensation of jolting awake in bed
after feeling like I was falling because at least
a butterfly-sized part of me knows
staying alive might be a good thing.

© Carl Burkitt 2023