The Arrival
Ahead of me the trunk sways
like a coffin down the corridors.
My parents heave it up the stairs,
drop it onto the dormitory floor.
A crater opens between us.
Retracing our steps, I see them off
at the school entrance –
turn back to unpack my loss.
Stuff it into drawers under my allotted bed,
hang it limp in the dark of communal wardrobes.
That night I lie in a row of girls
with no walls on either side
to stop me from falling
First published in Allegro magazine
