2024-04-06 a childhood memory

feet dangle next to cold porcelain
making contact in rhythmic blows
a key turns in the door

that night you stand in my doorway
telling me about the universe 
the golden age of pluto as a planet

a decade later i paint the same wall
black with white splatter
flaky acrylic paint making stars

by then you are in your own world
of tv marathons and takeaway pizza
special edition full length concert film

we make a rocket from cereal boxes 
protective foam and toilet roll tubes
it lives pride of place atop dvd cabinet

you take me on my first rollercoaster
and i learn that i love the thrill
of real fear mixed with a safety harness

the conversations dry up
replaced with infinite parallel play
each to their own screen

we try to build a house
miniature bricks and real mortar
but we never manage to finish