Sport 29: Spring 2002
The Psychology Clinic
The Psychology Clinic
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
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?