Coats
by Colm Keegan
(from Caught in Amber)
My daughter lost her temper
And swung her little white coat at me
Making me laugh.
You should have seen her face
When it slipped from her arms
And took to the air.
I caught it for her.
But for a heartbeat
It was as if she thought it might keep going,
Fluttering away from the playground,
And over the Wicklow mountains
Escaping to the sea and the sunset.
It might’ve met my jacket out there
My little black jacket
Size 3-4
With the gold Benson and Hedges logo.
The one I took from the wardrobe,
And slept in one night.
I used to live in it
and chew the collar
I loved how the fabric felt in my mouth.
Until that day on O'Connell bridge
When I was sat beside it
The wind was raging
And whipped it from me,
Flung it into somersaults over the Liffey
Where it landed gently on the oily water,
And floated away.