Sunday 29 December 2019

was it so grave

was it so grave

mammy
had a scar like a crocodile 
from the tin works
before the war

now
on which arm
which arm was it on
i cannot remember

but i remember the slaps
and the legs they landed on
and the tears

laughing leads to crying
she said ??
times were hard

the scar never went
it wasn’t peter pan’s crocodile
it was from two clips either side of a gash
she told me of the leather aprons 
in the pickling shop where men died 
in the tin works 
they turned green

told of the bombers 
and the air raid shelter under the furnace
for they were not crocodile tears
that she shared in the slaps

spare the rod 
and spoil the child

play was so hard we laughed until we cried
when the blood dried on our knees 
that the snuffled tears had smeared

we laugh at the scars now
the hurts were life in the making

when the scars heal they bury them
they bury them deep
six feet deep

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