kitty matilda dunne

I miss sitting at the kitchen table after school,

coffee and home-made windfall cake,

telling each other of lessons and break-times.

I miss running along the dusty track to the kangaroo tree,

chasing Eleanor on the bicycle.

I miss picking up stones on the beach for Grandad to inspect,

to see if I would be declared the winner of the polo that day.

I miss jumping off the beams into the haystack below,

in our big old barn with my cousins.

I miss picking rose petals from the garden,

mixing them with water from the tap in the old dairy

to make 'perfume' for our mother.

I miss little house on the prairie at bed times,

Dad falling asleep in the old rocking chair.

I miss a life of cosy simplicity.