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BRONWYN BRYANT

What to do When the Lights Go Out

I know what you’re thinking
and it’s true that birth rates peak
nine months after power cuts
but this is a family poem
and if you have ever played
charades by candlelight
you will understand
the wide eyes of children
and the way the corners of the room
soften into bowls of shadow
and the patterns of light on the ceiling
play their own guessing game.

 

 

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