Famous Reporter # 22: December, 2000

 

 

 

 

 

 
          Robyn Mathison
 
           Amelia?
 
          She was a little woman,
          white-haired, in sensible shoes,
          tweed skirt and twinset:
          somebody’s grandma.
          Late afternoon light
          gave her a halo.
          I felt we’d smile and say hello
          as we passed each other.
 
          Just as the lights changed
          she raised her arms up and out,
          like a kindergarten child
          who is pretending
          she’s a little aeroplane.
          I stepped off the kerb
          and found myself looking at the sky
          above the intersection.
 
          A seagull banked and wheeled
          and flew off towards the mountain.
          No-one came towards me.
          There was no sign of her.