Links
Nick’s Lullaby by Candace Bilyk
http://www.candacebilyk.com...

Dog Barking by mich3D (Freesound)
http://www.freesound.org/sa... (Freesound mich3D)

Everything’s Changed
After the car crash, everything’s changed.
My daughter holds me
with first thoughts of death
and, like a frightened animal,
claws on instinct.

It’s nothing serious - a few bruises shadow my skin,
and whiplash jars my neck. A sore chest makes me wince
as she hugs too tight and my mortality dawns in her eyes.

Everything’s changed.
The car written off, we walk home in the rain
and drive a shopping trolley along the rutted track.

As we pass the garden centre at night
fear of guard dogs’ barks
makes her stumble-run on broken bricks.
Everything’s changed.

Now, she promises to live with me forever.
Holds me tight again, her intense hazel eyes
fixed on mine, and says:
“If you’re going to have another car crash Mum,
I want to die with you.”

(c)Deb Matthews-Zott