Helen said
the woman
in the flat
above hers
(Mrs Knight)
had a new kitten
to replace the one
that got run over
on the road.
It was a tabby
and when Mrs Knight
lets it out
it rubs
against my legs
Helen said.
I can show
when you
come round
next time.
We walked
to Jail Park
went on the swings.
I'm going
to get a kitten
when I'm older
she said
a tabby
like Mrs Knight.
We rode
the swings high
rising up
into the morning air.
I pretended
I was in a spitfire
shooting down
German warplanes
tat-a-tat-tat
I went.
Helen talk on
about how the kitten
drinks the milk
she puts out
on a saucer
but too often
or it'll want to live
with us
she said.
I shot down
half a dozen warplanes
the invisible pilots
falling dead.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Oh, to be a child again! Well done, Terry, capturing the differences and contrast between how little boys and girls think. She's such a girly-girl, already the little nurturer. He's such a boy, fighting and conquering.