Friday, 18 August 2023

I Am Unlearning by Julia Forster


As a child, I always liked it most

when I sat at the centre of the seesaw;

there, you didn’t need to pick a side,

yet somehow, you still got the thrill


of the aching highs and the sudden lows.

I also found it was best to be agnostic

about where I preferred to spend Christmas.

Mt recurrent nightmare was that my parents


were drowning in a river and I had to choose

one of them to swim out to and save.

So, you’ll forgive me if I find it difficult

to say what I’d like for dinner, or if I take


an hour deciding on a film to watch.

Choice is hard for some of us. And anyway,

perhaps my parents were fine in the river,

perhaps it was my job to stay dry.


Published in New Welsh Reader issue 132

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