A Child’s Memory Poem

A Child’s Memory Poem

The child in the sky blue jumper
searches for slugs and snails 
in the rain and mud—

clearing a path free 
of dirt, sand and fallen twigs— 

forming them a terrarium,
a safe home, 
a space of coexistence—

out of the cracked fish bowl
that once held her prized goldfish 
won with a ping pong throw 
at the county fair—

now a memory 
of a shiny golden funnel
in the toilet’s flush—

a home away
from footsteps, 
fast cars and ditchwater—

a place for 
them not to
die—

the entrance baited 
with a wilted lettuce leaf—

knowledge of their survival
cribbed from a library book—

this sky child 
so greedy to keep
everything alive—

on this weekend
she must spend 
with her father—

waiting for these creatures
to produce their magic—

leaving shiny trails —
of rainbows— 
everywhere— 
they crawl.