It’s coming up to that time of the year when things go
bump in the night, ghosts wriggle through keyholes, and
skeletons parade the streets. Here’s a weird happening,
though whether it happened in fact is another story.
IN BLUE PYJAMAS
last seen walking at night
in blue pyjamas
patterned with red teddy-bears
her long brown hair floating
the teddy bears hugged her
into hibernation
with them for the winter
they curled under a bush
in the suburbs
stroked her to sleep
and kept her warm
until spring stirred them
to search for cornflakes
but she slipped out
to buy the milk
she wanted last October
First published in The Ontario Poetry Society’s Outward Bound