What I Missed
by Juleigh Howard-Hobson
(for Josephine Howard, 1916-1998)
I came to visit you in ’86.
I was twenty-four, mad for Lambrettas
And the boys who rode them. You showed me tricks
Your cat could do, that first evening, sweater
Half knitted and hanging from your knees, tea
On the boil in the kitchen. I smiled, made
My break for it the next morning. Watford
Wasn’t where it was at, for me. I stayed
With you just long enough to be nice, bored
Inside and out with your old company,
Your garden and your memories of war...
I thought myself too clever to want you
Instead of London. I was twenty-four.
I’m older now and wish I’d wanted to.
Juleigh Howard-Hobson’s work has been nominated for both a Pushcart and the Best of the Net. Most recently, she’s won the Trellis Magazine Villanelle Contest. Her poetry has appeared in Soundzine, The Raintown Review, The Barefoot Muse, The Shit Creek Review and many other print and online journals.
