The Tower
I go on the big slide!
How brave it is, and right. Each step she takes is half her height But she is not afraid.
See Daddy, watch me when I go on my tummy. Watch me. I don't need anyone to catch me. Watch me do it again.
And, as she bobs above it, This space from the river's edge To the underpass and the railway bridge, She is the princess of it.
From her infanta's hands Road, rail and river fall To Canterbury, to Kent, to all The new found lands.
As if a stone should be Lobbed into silent water, As if the sun of a little daughter Conjured an orrery, Beautiful, like a ring, Intricate, like a verse, Cancelling out the primal curse, Ordering everything.
On to the News at Ten: Rape of a three-year-old kid Dumped in a ditch to die (she did).
On to the world of men.
On to the world of men, On, as soon as you're ready. Watch me do it again, Daddy. Watch me do it again.
John Whitworth
Previous page
