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.