Richard Dawson
Fresher’s Ball
I drove Bobbie down to university
With the Rover bursting at the seams
We brunched in the halls of res canteen
Then I got on my way
Waving me goodbye from the steps of her building
She shrinks into the shudders of the rearview
Tears begin to fall on the outskirts of Leeds
I am missing her already
I stopped for a coffee at Scotch Corner
I called to see if she was doing okay
She gently laughed at my foolishness
"Don't worry"
Watching Match of the Day that night, I was bereft
The house seemed to hold its breath
I went out to smoke in the garden
There was a hedgehog drinking from the pond
I felt happy watching it make its way
Into the rhubarb‚ through the dewy blades
I must have drifted off with the opening credits
Of The Fog and had the most disturbing dream
We were running through the maze
Away from the drooling Minotaur
Dawn arrives‚ rosy on the Roman blind
Just before the monster can devour us
I quickly grab a shower
And head to five-a-side