LADYBIRD SUMMER

was it back somewhere
in the January of '76
that I was 'Wide Eyed and

Legless" and becoming
pregnant without
even knowing.

totally in love with
Amen Corner
making love to it

now July swelters
a terrible time
to carry a baby

and heavy shopping
up three flights of stairs
each step crushing

hoards and hoards
of ladybirds
over and over

the roads
melting
sticking to my footsteps

"Sun, sun sun -  here it comes!"
now blasts from
the tiny transistor

Summer heatwave
wave of nostalgia
for the Beatles of my youth

but fancying
Steve Harley
head over heels

even my soon-to-be born
child somersaults
inside me

I will call him Steve
or Stevie if it's a girl
father now only a photograph