School Yards # 61 Claine Keily

She did as told
lit the candles
beneath the ceramic saints
then hurried home
to where the whole
house sparkled

Tomorrow they would shop
for vinegar and treacle
then she would return
to sleep beneath a plastic model
of Christ crucified
glowing a green in the dark
that was meant to be golden

Then she pretended to do
what her mother told her
as she watched her
pray for parquet floors
and wide bay windows
and school yards
where there were
no migrants