(Regional
winner of the National loo competition, 1989)
Mind-blowing, amazing, light;
tiles gleam biscuit-pale
beneath jugs of daffodils,
shouting fresh and gold;
pot-pourris, nosegays, breathe out
heady spring;
home preserves packed country
fashion
crowd in crisp mob-caps;
china hangs, glowing like stars,
upon the walls.
Everything gay and shining, clean;
a rejoicing in clear hot water, in
fragrant soaps;
this is as it should be; a place
to re-assess,
to redraw battle lines, to chart
integrity;
a space in which to wash away the
dirt, the weariness.
Hands drying now, turning
luxuriously
in fans of soft air, fish basking
in warm and magical streams.
On the far wall a mirror,
watchful, four-square.
Each one, passing, leans a little,
peers at tiny imperfections,
smoothes a ruffled eyebrow,
mourns the passing years,
puts on ‘a brave face’, preparing
to go...out?
Behind is the unseen attendant,
watching.
Is life too a one-way mirror?
Does some God, attendant, sit
behind the glass;
watching to see that we leave all
in order,
having made the best of things?
Or is it vanity, all vanity...
(March,
1989)
