Sport 29: Spring 2002

The Psychology Clinic

page 166

i Keep clear
I was born in the spring.
Set among bulrushes

I put out to sea, drawn
from water to water,

slipped through teasing
willow, harbouring iris,

running over shingle
like water in water.

I looked to heaven for clarity.
Lord, didn't it rain.

ii Psychology Clinic Parking Strictly reserved
The waiting room overlooks
the carpark, two tight places equally

hard to get in and out of. By the time
you get inside, you are already

in the world of dreams—the wheel
needs changing, your sister's steering

drives you crazy, your car has stalled
in a field and you are waiting diffidently

page 167

on the roof until the boar stops
charging it. You can't laugh about it

until you wake up. Where have you
put those keys? Whatever

the receptionist says,
it won't be Can I help you?

iii Go to Block 5 via Block 6
I was in love with the lonely bush.
Suburbia, I loved that too, and the way

she was always on the fringe.
All those years I tried to climb

that sheer face, heedless of the path
beneath. All those years of waiting

to be run through with happiness,
unable to turn it on myself.

iv Inwards
You sit with Gerald on the couch
in animated conversation. Outside

it's raining on your suburban car,
but here you are, and he is grateful.

He kisses your cheek, looks into
your eyes, exclaims: what a lovely

room! What space can he see
inside your head, inside whose dream?