Long Last

by Patrick James Errington

Maybe it is the very last of days. Last summer light
longing the telephone lines. And here you are

a kid again, just shy maybe of seven, allowed at long
last to join in the game. Hiding, all giddy and grin, breathless

in the uncut grass well beyond the last vacant row of houses,
lying on your back, fists full of dry grass and the darkening

sky pressed tight against your face. You shouldn’t be
out this late – your body athrill, undiscovered, others long

since gone in. Someone should be calling you home. Hold
your breath. Any second now. But not yet. Not just yet.

 

---

About the Author

Dr Patrick James Errington is a poet, translator, critic and academic from Canada. He is widely published in journals and magazines and the recipient of numerous literary prizes including, most recently, the RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers, awarded by the Writers Trust of Canada.

Post Image

Detail from anne-marie robert: Country Fields and Fences, Québec, Québec City, Canada, 2015 (Unsplash).