SKIN & BLISTER
( for Junie )
We grin & grimace
drop candle wax onto our fingertips
as the storm
rattles our window pane
angry that we won’t let it in.
All night
it rages
toppling chimney
pots with a crash
smashing slates
it strips from rooftops
as we safe
giggle & peel off
our waxen
fingerprints
hold them
(tiny whirlpools)
in our palms
those whorls
of self
unique to each.
I wearing my sister’s
fingerprints
she... wearing mine.
***
SKIN & BLISTER is Cockney rhyming slang for sister. We were so close we could have worn each other fingerprints and as a little boy I was delighted to do so. I was her and me was she. This I guess is something we did to amuse ourselves before...telly arrived.