Your touch was deft
as you tended the tree
appeasing its thirst
with duckweed.
But time and emptiness
went on
scooping you away
leaving you hollow.
At the crest
of the hill
the lament
of a bellbird.
She rises early and fetches
fresh rolls for our breakfast. Coffee
is brewing as I shower.
The faculty adore her wit and intelligence,
students admire her humour and beauty –
she plays sports of various codes.
But I haven't been to university:
my degree earned extramurally
long after I'd left school.
Perhaps she is my alter ego:
the person I might have been
if circumstances had been different.
A young woman wearing sunglasses
smiles at me from a parked car –
now that's another story.