Bedtime

In the darkened room
the storles dlstil from imagination's swirling vapours.

Your eyes shlne with anticipatlon and your grin
widens to a gappy smile as the last links of the story fall into place..

I tell you how much I love you and your skinny arms lock around my neck.
Your much loved dog comes through to settle by your bed
and feel your fingers resting in her fur..

I tuck your pyjamas into your socks
the way you like me to.
I turn the lights down and turn some music on.

We pray together,
you as always full of questlons,
me as always struggling to explain
the intangible certainties of falth,

and wondering all the while
if this time with you
is not a bit of paradise
slipped through.

(c) A McN