Treasures by Helen Farish
The old coach road on a heat-haze night;
my new jacket; my sudden interest
in swallows; the barn; Butch Cassidy
and the Sundance Kid; a cassette recording
of a 17-year-old me; the lost photos;
that Dad hoped in the afterlife
he'd be aware of me; that Dad hoped;
the after life; the advent calendar
John made me; July 28th just gone;
the Ellers' lonning; the monkey clock
at Pickett Howe; our silver Cortina
in the yard; how unremarkable today was.
These are my treasures, and you
wanted only one of them; me
pulling my dress up, poorer
than I've ever been.
· From Intimates by Helen Farish, published by Jonathan Cape, priced £9. Buy Intimates at the Guardian bookshop.