We are Aries cusp of Pisces
stubborn determination and a watery fragility.
We are strength and uncompromising promise,
our emotions need stroking every third day.
We have pride, horns of the ram;
fish circular in tidal spirals
because we’re romantic about perfection.
And isn’t it all just like a woman?
The yin and the yang with shampooed waves?
The muscle tees with amethyst beads?
The day you were born
my flesh and skin and blood and bones
had just turned thirty-one.
A warm sea breeze filled my breath
from three kilometres away.
My son was content with the magpie’s warble
and I ate grapes from a purple bowl.
Something sweet was in the air:
your first scream felt halfway round the world.
Sweet Caroline, our bond is more than this
more than you are my brother’s youngest daughter
more than we share a birthday.
Our bond is my hands reaching out to yours
while staring at the stars.
Seismic whiffs of that something sweet.