Wartime

warmed coins melt spy holes in frost fronds the red sun flames school milk thaws on pipes

pencil shavings smell sharp as harvest straws chalk wax crayon "Number One"

dad's waistcoat yields pinched smokes pencil stubs his dad's watch HUSH! Six-o-clock News

old soldier he hefts my brother's kitbag through snow to the train... mum cries

by frames memory unwinds from sixty years railway tracks...snow... buttons bright as tears