Joseph seems to disappear in the Christmas story, barely a mention of him, yet think of his worries as they went to Bethlehem, him leading the donkey, his pregnant wife riding. Then, his wife going into labour in a
stable of all places …
THE MAN BEHIND HER
from the Jane Hapley collection
– look again
he’s there head bent
to the new baby
they said he was
too old for fathering
been working too long
shown white-haired
stooped but caring
yet Mary wanted
to live with his eyes
the warmth of his body
the touch of his hands
– she knew his youth
A Bedroom of Searchlights’: poetry. This collection draws a picture of the poet’s divorced mother, an artist with two children, who struggled with poverty, war, and the realities of daily life, yet still found beauty and comfort in her garden, and her art. From Inanna Publications, 2016. 
1960willowtree 