The teddy bears have packed up their picnic
and started climbing into black bags
and boxes with the words CHARITY SHOP
written on the side in marker pen along with
wooden jigsaw pieces shaped like pigs,
squeaky giraffes, and bunny maracas
to make way for plastic gorillas with knife-sharp
teeth hungry to crush Hot Wheels and books
about dinosaur turds and wallets stuffed with
Erling Haaland, Jarrod Bowen, Marvelous Nakamba
and conversations about death and dying
and the same old box of trusted train tracks
they’ll one day find in his cold, dusty loft.

Carl Burkitt 2024