It's Still Life

They have returned to the limed white wallstumbling over with bougainvillaea,and sunlight brightas bare electric lights where nights are cold as a cellar floorand days are warmed bythe generous breathof honeyed trees and a girl’s hips and feetare born to the rhythmsof salsa and merenguesultry and spicy they are back homewhere the Andes throb with…

21 July: a dog named pot-of-rice He can’t eat more chips becausehis skin is full, and when he gets a dog, he’ll call it pot-of-rice.he loves rice. She gathers stones on the beach. some to throw.some to talk to there’s sand between her toes. They cut paper into tiny pieces andpretend it’s raining. ©Misky 2022…

20 July: Heat Wave He say he’s never seen mewith wet hair before. and the patio is too hotfor ants to walk on, and is it okay to step on them? She knocks on the bedroom door, and askswhen Nana and Farfar won’t be sick and says, please fix this boiling house. They they’re both…

17 July: London Two Ways (30ºC, and my flowers are dying) He is at the London Aquarium.hands-on and poking starfish. singing Baby Shark song says King Louie is biggerthan that shark She is at the matinee of Frozen.says it’s all wrong Elisa doesn’t have dark skin.and the singing is too loud. and she says Nana…

15 July: Centerparcs Longleat 31°C He threw his soft toy penguinin the swimming pool. swim, he shouts.his penguin sinks. it takes three days to dry a penguin. She whispers. every word.and tilts her headand smiles. one must choose to listen. They are crying. they don’t want to go home. why are we all sick and…

11 July (mostly inside today) He is afraid of the big bird in the garden,it wants to eat him, he says. and says it’s too hot outside buthe’ll have toast anyway. cereal. no milk. no spoon. and he’s washing is hands inhis drinking glass. More water, he says. She likes Danish cheese, and her legsare…

9 July ( A Day at Little Hampton Beach) He says why are they red,those aren’t grapes – grapes are green. and he doesn’t want a red applebecause Snow White keeps eating them,and then she is dead again. his sister eats all of his grapes. She is dressed for the beach. Misha and the bearare…

7 July: The Natural History Museum He says, it’s all bones, bones,but where are the dinosaurs and he doesn’t need the toiletbecause he’ll sit on his bum so poo won’t come out and he likes trains that rattle and then asks, what’s a gap. She can name most every dinosaurin the museum and says her…