Walking to Africa /
Jessica Le Bas.
- 86 pages ; 24 cm
Poems.
1. Was this the beginning?. Summer. Autumn. Winter. Spring. Summer, by another name -- 2. The beyond. Beside her. Talking to Doctor Beam. Safety measures. She says I hate you. There are other kids. What next?. A map of the world. Whatever. Birds in a cage -- 3. Perspectives (1). This is Bernard's answer. Walking to Africa. Rooms. Being there. A red canvas. The coffee table -- 4. Another autumn. What was it?. Home leave. O another winter. The angel/nurse. Ducks -- 5. Voices -- 6. Cutting the deck. A long way from home. Not the fair ground. White, and shades of pale. The darkest place in the universe. Aftermath. An afternoon walking. The E word. Coming up... -- 7. The homecoming. ...Going down. Another ordinary day/another ambulance -- 8. The adult inside the child. The adult inside the child is asked to come out, please/please come out now. Finger knitting. In the adult/mental health unit. Noise(s). Cutting connections. Sing-a-long -- 9. Visiting hours. The trick of almost winning. Harm's way. Two cats. Slice -- 10. False perception. The colour blue. Newly discovered sites on the moon. Spells. And sat down beside her.... The news on reality -- The not-great escape : Out patient, out. Out driving around town on Friday night. Where is she?. Wash. Shade -- 12. Perspectives (2) : What you say. What they say. How things lie -- Epilogue : Laptop. Your right arm. For her, poetry (i). For her, poetry (ii) -- Notes and acknowledgements.