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19th April, 2024

Friday Poem – ‘Familiar’ by Grahame Davies

Photo of terraced houses beneath a blue sky

This week’s Friday Poem is ‘Familiar’ by Grahame Davies from his new collection A Darker Way.

Familiar I walked her home. We took the long way round just to prolong the time out of the house. We’d known each other nearly forty years and still I’m happy just to follow her. We passed the dealership. She touched the fence. Short cut? she asked me. If you want, I said. Knowing she could not mean it. Diwedd mawr... – not in the heels that she was wearing now. But still I would have done it if she’d said. She turned away a few steps. And was gone, shoes in her hand, a county athlete, a plastic medal winner with the Urdd, I ran off after her. Heads turned. She didn’t care, cornering the terraces like a hare. I knew where she was heading. Out of breath, I found her setting out a glass for me. The usual? I don’t have a usual. But took it from her gladly just the same. But then, perhaps I do. This race. This game.

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Related Books

This cover depicts a painted image of a large hill. The hill is dark, with blurred fields in the foreground and a light sky in the background. The text reads A Darker Way: Grahame Davies.

A Darker Way

Grahame Davies

Buy now