First she caught a cold.
Then she became strangely forgetful.
Now she's gone
- away and not here -
and if I am lucky she knows
I am that girl
that calls her my mum.
--
"I am scared of the ghosts," I whispered and I crawled onto her bed.
My mum sat up straight and wrapped her arms around me.
"Don't be, they're not real," she said to me.
I looked into her eyes and saw she was lost in a delusion again.
"Mum," I said, "What's wrong?"
She looked up to me, as if she only just noticed I was there.
"I am scared of the ghosts," she whispered and I noticed her voice was trembling.
"Don't be," I whispered, "They're not real."
True story.
For the love of God.
Mix a little foolishness with your serious plans; it's lovely to be silly at the right moment.