I remember her violin on the wall
a log rolling out of the fire
the Punch'n'Judy show at the fair
I remember her playing _Chariots of Fire_
the firemen putting out the chimney
the Wendy house Santa built in the dark
_I don't want to look after the baby!_
Disneyworld was a fantasy world on Sunday TV
a welcome break from the Viet Nam war
smoke rose from the Wendy house
as he tried to keep her warm
I remember the music teacher in the wheelchair
and her tantrum banging the bow against the strings
Punch threw the baby into the audience
children laughed as the committee froze
I was a man paid by the word
late at night the pines sang above the tinroof shed
the violin hung silent on the wall
Punch'n'Judy packed-up and left
another log burnt to ashes
I wrote videos until dawn
then drove to the city
to write more
not a word I loved
for the ones I loved
now I remember the Wendy house
and _Chariots of Fire_
the warmth of fireside evenings
poems with coffee at dawn
the laughter of children
as Punch threw the baby out
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