In pigtails, on the swings, I play at one end
of the avenue; at the other my grey plaits
 
are pinned tight to my skull. I sip my weak coffee,
and do not touch my pastry. I watch the world
 
go through the square. I watch you. You are always
as you are, a man in late middle age,
 
always there with me. We browse in the bookshops
of my twenties, step outside under the broad leaf trees
 
that line the avenue. You wait a moment,
not counting time, to see which way I will turn.
 
Matt Kirkham’s latest collection is The Dumbo Octopus (Templar, 2016). The poem featured here is from a sequence about the life and work of twentieth century mathematician Kurt Gödel and his wife Adele.

Find out more about Matt’s work:
https://templarpoetry.com/collections/matt-kirkham
http://www.laganpress.co/authors/matt-kirkham