Once in 1975 near a cess pit

In amongst the grass,
There was a little girl,
In her red dungarees,
Face smeared with mud.

In amongst the orange pipes,
They were filling the hole,
The cess pit.

In amongst the bricks and piles of dirt,
She hid.
Crouched,
Found nests full of blue eggs.

Climbed onto metal buckets.

Skipping-rope dreams,
And buckle-up hopes,
And bobble hat it up,
And hatandgloves kiss on cheek.

2

I remember being so very cold,
With no shoes.
Looking down the hole,
I found an abandoned cat,
Skinny and hopeful.

He looked up at me,
Tortoise-shell plea.
I let down my bucket on a piece of string.

Up he climbed.
Up.
Up.
Up.

His little face peeping out,
Smiling.
Laughing almost,
That someone had saved him.

Out he leapt,
Into my arms.

Oh, how I love you,
I cried.
Oh, how I love you!

He was out of there like a streak,
A whip of blue air.
Off he whistled,
Through the bushes,
You'll never catch me!