Circles Poem by Bryan Sefton

Once there was a little boy happy and bright
And someone to cancel the fears of the night
Back when the laughter rang all round the home
Then there were three hearts (now there is one)
Then there were kisses and promises made
They were but shadows and tended to fade
In the living reality, the light of day
Fading. Fading. Fade away
Mummy said nothing
Nothing to say
Fading fading fade away

(You can mend a clock that's been torn apart
But what do you do with a little boys heart?)

Taking the leash from the hallway shelf
He sets out to find her for himself
Clipping the leash to his red setters collar
Off goes the dog and he's forced to follow
The sound of them fading fainter to faint
The red setter pulling at his masters restraint
The boy only wanting to open the door
Goes round in a circle and round once more
Just as the handle's within his grasp
The dog gives a tug and his chance is past

(Mummy has gone and daddy will too
And I keep starting this circle anew)

Round the corridor they come again
The red setter pulling at his masters restrain
Tongue hanging out like a big red towel
Breathing in harsh rasp gasp and growl
A little release giving increased pace
And a red flush forms on the little boys face
He heaves on the leash of leather and chain
And off they stumble into the dark again
The round and round of the pulling and pulled
The repeated circling of the searching gull

(Here we go round the Mulberry bush
His firm foundation is a sea of slush)

Mummy sends a note saying 'little boy blue
Don't you think that I'm hurting too?
We'll get together sometime somewhere'
The little boy waiting at the top of the stair
The red setters lying with his head in his paws
Watching his master clutching at straws
Back in nineteen seventy one
The boy looked away and his Mummy was gone
Now it is nineteen ninety four
And still the little boy watches the door

(Promises promises made in vain
Here we go round in a circle again)

You can fix the window. Secure the door
You can plaster the ceiling and firm the floor
You can render the brickwork till it stand like a joke
But no matter what you do the home stays broke
'Oh Mummy can you see the mess you made?
That in your leaving me you stayed? '
Once there were three hearts then were two
Now just a little boy cries in the gloom
Out in the corridor seeking someone
He and the setter wait all alone

(The boy had a son but the marriage fell through
Circles circles start anew)