The Longest Month

Daughter number three will be waiting for me;

one month since she left her home for Nice.

I have the items she requested-hair clips and

bobbles, and a jar of chilli flakes; I hope I got it right.

The flight is busy, but relatively quiet-tea

and chocolate is the order of the day.

I hear a baby cry at the front of the plane and I

remember the long haul to Australia; London, Hong

Kong and then Sydney; daughter three was but a bairn.

A journey that I wish never to make again, with her crying

in my arms. Her big blue eyes, looking up at me-me

willing her to sleep. With eyes now green, she waits for me.