There may have been a time
when they attended Madame Butterfly,
Mum wearing her good dress,
the green tulle with a flared skirt;
behind her ears, a dab of Evening in Paris,
from the deep blue bottle.
Dad in white shirt and striped tie,
heart soaring. There are no photos
of this so perhaps I am spinning
the parent tale we all want
to read at bed time - love
uncomplicated and just for you.
Dunedin poet Diane Brown runs Creative Writing Otago. Her new collection, Taking My Mother to the Opera, is forthcoming this month from Otago University Press.
Contributions to this weekly column are invited from writers south of the Waitaki River, should be previously unpublished, should not exceed 35 lines and should be in typed or emailed text - do not send attachments. There will be no correspondence over selections. Post to Opinion Page, Editorial Department, Otago Daily Times, PO Box 181, Dunedin; or email to philip.somerville@odt.co.nz
