06.10.2021 Views

Haphazardly in the Starless Night by Hugh McMillan sampler

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The Wishbone<br />

On <strong>the</strong> w<strong>in</strong>dowsill,<br />

its white pa<strong>in</strong>t old<br />

and flak<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

was a wishbone,<br />

a pewter pot beside it<br />

that my mo<strong>the</strong>r said<br />

was from home.<br />

Moss mould was<br />

on <strong>the</strong> edges of glass<br />

and on <strong>the</strong> outside<br />

<strong>the</strong> perpetual dark<br />

of weeds gone wild.<br />

There was a wishbone<br />

on <strong>the</strong> w<strong>in</strong>dowsill,<br />

it was huge like a d<strong>in</strong>osaur’s,<br />

yellow and sta<strong>in</strong>ed<br />

with <strong>the</strong> ghost of blood.<br />

A pterodactyl bone,<br />

a pagan bone,<br />

<strong>the</strong> fundament of a roc.<br />

It was <strong>the</strong>re for years<br />

while round it <strong>the</strong> house<br />

fell apart. It’s still <strong>the</strong>re<br />

<strong>in</strong> a shelf of my m<strong>in</strong>d.<br />

No one did.<br />

No one dared really.<br />

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