First times

‘What did she say’ -Father
‘‘ I like pink’ -Mother
‘What did you say I said’- Girl
‘I like pink’ -Mother
‘I‘m not going to live with you any more’.- Girl
‘Harsh’- I intervened
and followed up
with a smile.
I told her how, as a teen,
London at dusk had been
an intoxication, a living
memory of Mozart, and
architecture and evening
light, Frank Finlay as Salieri,
Venice and London and
centuries rolling into
each other.

Ten is a harsh age,
continued on
by all the others.
What I don’t get ,
is why is it hardest,
always,
on the mothers?

Dressed up,a retro model
in miniature,
stick legs and stick arms
cushioned with love.
She’ll remember me,
the funny lady
opposite
on that trip
to London.