This is Saturday

She says: 'I am as brittle
As dog biscuits and my teeth
Are as dusty'. Frets
She will flake out
On the sheets stained
Clover green.

I am not afraid.
I love this girl to my bones,
To the stuff inside my bones.
We have been pirates,
Groupies,
Sirens.

I want to say:
I have seen things
Lots of things
We can use these things
To build a boat
And make you safe.

But instead, I fold
Under and under her feet
And swaddle her
In old folk songs.
It seems important to keep warm
No-one tells you why.