In the latter stages of thin illness

I dreamt that I was in Swindon with you

Sitting on a bench

In Rodney Avenue

You described the avenue to me

Throughout the years

From its inception to the present day

You described how a block of martyred flats

Had obscured the view to the battered lake

Until they were demolished after a wartime fire

The land was never used again

And now provides advantage to the beautiful waters

Later as we sat on a jetty we dangled our feet in the shallows

Creating ripples and disturbances

It was then that I told you how much I admired your cheesecloth shirt

 

2018