by Nick Gisburne
A clockwork bird. A stolen piece of cheese.
An apple, bright, but close to going bad.
They’re all I have. I bring them to appease
The wrath of my demented, dear old Dad.
He’s hasn’t been as chipper as he was
Before he had the rigmarole, the thing.
They never quite explained it all, because
He wanted to me to paint a piece of string.
We’re so alike, two carrots in a pod.
I feel as though I’ve known him all my life.
I wheel him in the garden, like he’s God.
He mixes up his mother and his wife.
I know he’s old. I know he’s lost the plot.
I love him. He’s the only Dad I’ve got.