my finger tips are dry
but feel well against my cracked lips
today they have silenced a whisper
parted barbed wire
picked wattle
and broken a fall
cut words from a book older than my mother
held a cup of coffee
and spilled white, paper-wrapped sugar
they have disappointed me in their appearance
and stayed away from bull ants
they have not played guitar
not
even once …
© 2014 Melinda Irvine
