My eggshell head

The cafe has a downstairs

that not a lot of people know about

because it feels like you're going down

into the stockroom.

I once had a relationship with a ballet dancer

which was a fun thing to be able to say sometimes

but we made each other grumpy

but in those two months I learnt a lot

about ballet and life

and we've stayed in touch

I didn't think we'd stay in touch.

She texted me a photograph
 

of her with a shaved head and to tell me,

her sister had had twins

and I've never met her sister but some people

you just love hearing about.

A new relationship is permission 

to go into somebody else's house

and to get familiar with their kitchen routines

and to be mentioned on phone-calls.

That's it, I think, to hear your name

being said during someone else's conversation

without explanation.