'Calendar'

Joanna Tottenham received a Commendation for her recent entries to the Senior Poetry Prize. Here is one of her poems (inspired perhaps by Sylvia Plath's 'Mirror'):-

Calendar

I am precise and square. I do not forget

When I am told, I remember

Untainted by my preconceptions

I am an elephant. I never forget.

The mind of an academic, ink stained.

I pass my days collecting dates.

I am ordinary. I have taken so many.

I think I will explode. But it changes:

Months and days end with a band.

Now I am afresh. A new face appears,

Exploring my seasons for a time.

Then she succeeds and blesses me

With a note. She smiles and leaves.

I am her time keeper

Every day she visits me and stares.

I tell her the secrets and remember hers.

Her memory and mind are mine.

She grows and soon will be out of reach.