cleaning vacuuming wiping runny noses a scraped knee
stroking tummy to put her to sleep or when it's sore
singing bedtime songs spreading one's legs being
responsive consoling stuffing dirty washing in the drum
for the tenth time fishing pubic hair out of the drain
closing the toilet lid clearing mugs the entire family
has left on top of the dishwasher into the machine
swearing but inaudibly pondering the parenting
of men abandoning all parenting and bending to feed
the dog playing parcheesi like a total noodle
locking oneself in the bathroom at last pandemonium
a minute later: wiping snot spreading a jam sandwich
picking jam sandwich out the shag-pile washing
their swimsuits not having set a foot out all day
hunting the house-key admiring and despising multi-
tasking mishearing it as mummi-tasking shovelling
a dead bird off the window-ledge not finding it
icky taking it into the garden glancing at the solar storm
butterflies all that stuff left around the pond (which
is desperately in need of cleaning) dragonflies
a seconds long re-
flection: oneself
bleary, small
a child showing its
white teeth, your teeth

it is your body
you have no better words
for what you see, vital
and detached
from yourself
knowing more about you than you
can bear and it says: my love
for you is deeper than a forest

it says: dark is the inside of the mouth
and everything that thinks

Translated by Iain Galbraith