Those 4pm Blues
 
That void between tea-time and dinner
stranded on the settee
with nothing to hold on to
but my baby daughter
 
That gulf at the end of the school day
with no home to go back to
 
I forego the sticky willy iced buns,
the chatter of tea,
repair to the dormitory, transition to mufti.
Taste that empty pocket of space
 
before trooping to classroom for prep,
chapel to pray

Hélène Demetriades is a transpersonal psychotherapist and poet living in South Devon.  Her debut collection ‘The Plumb Line’ was published in 2022 with Hedgehog Press.  She is also the winner of the international Poetry On The Lake Silver Wyvern competition 2022.