SUNDAY 6th SEPTEMBER 2009.

It’s Luke’s 17th birthday today;
He’s my sister’s first kid, and I remember
Him arriving like it was this morning, which
It more or less was all those years ago, and on a Sunday.

I’d been seeing an obsidian skinned beauty
And we’d managed to get the nod on the Saturday
Night, and spent the evening re-enacting his conception,
And by the time we arrived at the North Middlesex he was here.

My sister was being wheeled out from her
Performance, drenched in sweat and other viscous
Matter, whilst her husband hobbled behind her in his ever
So slightly too high Cuban heels and 1980’s rock star hair style.

We had all spent a lot of time together
That year, checking tests and stress levels, padding
Nests and sex guessing. A day away in Southend collecting
Little teddy bears from promenade halls and roll them in arcades;

A night out in the West End at the Odeon
Leicester Square to watch Alien 3, sat in the front row,
Craning to see the show as chest busters popped out upon the
Screen whilst expecting my sister’s own creature to appear any minute,

And generally furthering the bonds of
Family, that although strong, have never been the
Same since. So to you my 6 foot 5 tall nephew I wish all the
Best, and when your further education starts savour every second of it.