I move my desk from its spot facing the radiator
to a braver place by the window
There is more to distract me here:
light, storms, snow.
Four boys in fake Money-Saving-Expert sweatshirts
swagger by with clipboards and salesman bravado.
An ambulance pulls up at the house opposite
and paramedics dash in to save a neighbour
who I haven’t seen since the crazy days of pot banging.
A transit van turns the corner
and I spot the driver’s ancient face crack open
in a widemouthed grin of real wonder.
What the fuck?
Man or maniac or monster?
Light and angle obscure him for a beat
and then I see. I understand.
On the seat beside him, backward-facing,
is a baby.
It's lovely.
Heart-warming.
(I make a quick note of the number plate
in case this is a kidnapping.)
Later, a woman walks past
followed by a dog with a man on a lead.
