i washed myself with fog
collected in watering cans
and kissed the tomato plants
that lilted beneath your fingers.
we swallowed toadstools
to waltz in clouds
a pale song of angels.

when london burned
i padded between bluebells
in search of unicorns.
we ate sweet butter on biscuits
and dreamed of chestnuts
hanging heavy on the string.
in the summer, the northern lights
(speak of white bears and ice floes)
sang us home.

when london burned
i swallowed a goldfish
and remembered when you loved me
on sailboat sheets.
sirens sang to us in voices
torn from schoolboys’ throats
but never shed their scales.

when london burned
i cried kerosene tears
and sang the streetlamp song.
i sifted through the ashes
and the embers spelled your name.