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Past Love in the Museum of Transport – poetry by Ciara MacLaverty

Past Love in the Museum of Transport

Where’s Daddy?
I say, holding your son in my arms,
inhaling the baby scent of his head.
You’re up on the steam engine
with your other son
pointing, waving down at us.

You still look good
and I can hold your gaze
without fear of loss
or fear of holding on.

Drinking tea in the café
I ask about your wife
and say how patient
and good-natured your kids are.
You clean the baby’s face
and use the wet wipe to sweep
the mess from the formica table.

I wonder how we ever fought,
how anyone ever fights,
and I am soothed
and oddly grateful
that it’s come to this

like tracing my
fingertips over a smooth scar
healed to the point where –
almost imperceptibly –
it reflects
more light.

Ciara MacLaverty

Pamphlet ‘Past Love at the Transport Museum’ by Ciara MacLaverty  available to buy at Tapsalteerie

Ciara MacLaverty’s Blog

This section: Love Poems, Stories and Tales from Glasgow writers, stories and poems, Valentine's Day in Glasgow 2017