Estranged
I remember the tents you built in the garden
Blankets held together with mum's washing pegs!
Enough room with my friend over the road,
My comfortable house on the grass
And the pillows we used for our beds and heads!
The best house in the street, my own abode!
One Christmas Mum and dad had bought me Patch,
You let me play with your dolls Cindy and Paul.
They were a happy family, much like us
Paul had brown plastic hair, blue eyes and was very tall;
She was up to date with knitted clothes and curly hair,
But Paul wasn't a 'man' and was nonplus.
You used to make me gooey icing sugar on a plastic plate
Which tasted divine from Mum's cupboard of food!
A shared Oxo cube late at night in bed,
The salty crumbs that made a mess on the sheets!
You took them from the Oxo tin and had to be shrewd
Always so tasty, the best in the world, food spread.
And those crunchy biscuits from chocolate and cornflakes
My tooth fell out while tucking in - or did it break?
The Spirograph, its maths and patterns - amazing!
And Lego, you built me things with bricks of red and white
And when I saw what you made, it was such a delight!
These, still in my house, they don't need replacing.
So upset when you paddled in the Lea and cut your foot
Did you have stitches? It was cut right open.
Dad was mad and sad that you caught it on glass
But you were lucky that no limbs got broken
And it all happened in the morning, so very fast,
So long ago, while many years have passed.
The hairy caterpillars we looked after and fed
Found on the privet bush and lilac tree.
We kept their jars clean and safe in the shed.
Then changed to a chrysalis, knew they were purebred
And after some time, the Tiger moth emerged
And watched them all fly free.
A fashion guru, kaftan, hotpants, cropped hair.
I don't think Dad approved and said a silent prayer!
The bunk beds in the same room that we shared
I used to annoy you pushing my feet up and didn't care!
We kept some toys from years ago among our teddy bears.
Evenings, we'd learn the alphabet backwards in the cold night air.
A bag of sweets from Woolworths, every Saturday after work,
Sherbert dip, jellies, love hearts, white chocolate Milky bar!
The music you borrowed from the library when you left school,
T. Rex, Hendrix, Status Quo and always my favourite ELO!
There were so many groups difficult to name them all
But your turntable was busy, always on the go.
I remember with affection, the happier early days,
But how quickly, in one day, the world turned upside down.
A tragedy in the early seventies when Dad was taken away.
Many things and relationships began to change
Doubt if I will see you again, we've completely broken down
And sadly to this day, we remain estranged.
Copyright Linda Lawrence Estranged
11th July 2026
