With teddies I buy more time
In this world with the purple dog
And the horse, crossed legs in red socks, watching TV in the lounge

In this world you want to be eighteen
Sleep with my bra under your pillow
And fight for my clothes when you’ll grow .I want to be six.

Sometimes I buy more time with books,
Witches that are only pretend –
School caretakers or child minders for real, we worry about dead fish in the sea

and Florence Nightingale .When you were Mary,
Fiddling with your apron in front of the audience
Joseph was watching you and us all, I so wanted to believe again

Now I know, it’s not about believing,
it’s living: with teddies and what once it’s going to be
an eighteen years old girl.