Every Note a Promise by Mark Farley

Death has come to visit.
He’s unpacked and settled
in the main bedroom
with the ghost
of my mother. They drink wine
until midnight and shriek
with laughter, waking
my teenage daughter
who makes her outrage
obvious via the medium
of slammed doors. Yesterday
I heard Death making love.
My daughter heard it
too. We sat together
in the cellar, beside the last
remaining bottle of wine.
The others were drunk
by Mother before she died.
She said it kept her young.

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Bio: 

Mark Farley has been shortlisted and highly commended for the Bridport Prize. Find him on Twitter (@mumbletoes) or via his blog (http://mumbletoes.blogspot.com/).