8.7.2026 – what if this road, that

For my brother Paul ….

what if this road, that
held no surprises decided not
go home after all

at all risks, who wants
to know a story’s end or
where a road will go

What if this road, that has held no surprises
these many years, decided not to go
home after all; what if it could turn
left or right with no more ado
than a kite-tail? What if its tarry skin
were like a long, supple bolt of cloth,
that is shaken and rolled out, and takes
a new shape from the contours beneath?
And if it chose to lay itself down
in a new way, around a blind corner,
across hills you must climb without knowing
what’s on the other side, who would not hanker
to be going, at all risks? Who wants to know
a story’s end, or where a road will go?

What if this road by Sheenagh Pugh, originally published in ‘Ids Hospit’ published by Seren Books (1997).