She knows the rules of this love game off by heart,
Contents within the cardboard box confines,
The plastic packaging keeping her safe and in place,
No enthusiastic shaking from the outside can dislodge a single item.

But inside,
Inside the box,
She causes mischief,
A misplaced piece substituted awkwardly,
A wrongly folded rule sheet,
A rip in a playing card,
A weighted dice,
A swear word scrawled,
Pieces in the wrong places.

Sabotaging for personal gain,
Disregarding temporarily the personal loss,
The thrill of naughtiness,
Disobeying the rules,
The knowing smile from both parties,
Push a little, push, push, stop,
Tidy up and put away,
A stern look,
A short sharp reminder,
No game playing the game states.

A lonely singular flower stands
Inbetween one fully grown tree, luscious in colour, ripe in fruit and full of life
And one new sapling sprouting its first leaves in exploration, a whole journey ahead

The flower moves in the slightest breeze
Feel isolated
In all weathers
Insular
Alone

The trees whilst varying in their size have strength in numbers to weather the storms
They are solid to the core
They protect themselves

Their roots stretch far and wide and hold onto the flowers tiny roots
Their stature shades the flower from the harshness of all that is out there
They bathe in her strength and individuality
The flower adores how they make her feel safe and welcome

The flower is never alone

Your watch sits upon the table,
You sleep soundly as I twist and turn it within my hands,
Beautifully cold and hard,
Tick, tick, tick, tock

The workings within, a mystery,
Dissecting the mechanisms,
Pulling apart the cogs and miniscule screws,
Oil greased fingers clumsy as I study each part,
With a microscope and a squint,

Seeking an affirmation from the metal shell within,
Making small encouraging noises purely for effect,
My simple mind,
Your complexities.

When the wind blows from the front,
You'll feel the nostalgia,
Hear the hustle and bustle of fishermen,
Crunching cockle shells under their boots,
Smell the sweet smelling tobacco from pipes,
The toil and hardwork heavy in the air.

Knocking you from the moment,
A faked tan man with a chihuahua,
Hear the cackle of faked laughter,
Clattering of stilletto heels upon cobbles,
Smell the alcohol laced ***** spilling from mouths,
The fruits of labour heavy in the air.

Sat upon the stone steps of my nanny's house,
Reggae playing loudly in the street,
The heartbeat of the people,
The heart beat in my chest,
Children with braided hair skipping in rhythm,
The trundling bakery van drives up the hill selling loaves and rolls for a few cents,
Aunties warm husky voice calling them for ices and mango,
The clip clop of flip flops and the jingle of beads mixed with laughter,
Brilliant white teeth,
Wide dark eyes,
A sea of noise, constant noise,
In a city, in London, this would be infuriating,
And yet all I feel here is happiness.

The way my eyes water when I laugh too much
And how I snort unexpectedly and blush

The little beauty spot I have just above my lip
And the one on my shoulder and that random one just above my belly button

The smell of my perfume
Of the cigarettes I pretend not to smoke and the conditioner I use

The way my voice whistles like a kettle when angry
And the way I speak at 90 miles an hour when I'm upset

My frame wrapped within and dwarfed within your embrace
Protecting me from the world like a father protects his daughter

The way I wolf down my food, like I've never been fed
And the way amongst chaos of house mess, I know the location of every item

The intensity between us when we met
The intensity between us when you left

You will forget me

The way your face dimpled when you smiled
A smile that showed your ever so British crooked teeth

The scattering of freckles upon your nose
Upon your shoulders, arms and that random patch above your belly button

The smell of your aftershave
Of the cigarettes you smoke and the washing powder you use

The way you raised your voice to a boom when angry
And the way it shook like a scared child when you cried

The feeling of your strong arms wrapped around my frame
Protecting me from the world like a father protects his daughter

The way you overchewed your food, a hark back to your childhood rules
And the way you folded your clothes and made the bed

The intensity between us when we met
The intensity between us when you left

I will forget you