It’s obvious, isn’t it?
A girl with a splinter in her palm.
She holds out for dad to see and he pulls it out
like Skittles from a packet.
She winches and cries
It’s a droplet of blood, but it feels like a lake
She shouldn’t climb trees
She’s been told that before
but this one
Dad
This one was from the wooden floor
in the house down the road
They had juice and played off the rug
There were trains and scaletrix
and she fell into the floor
She did what she’d learned
put her hands out in front
but the splinter had stuck
Ran home to Dad to pull that one out
ENDS
PHILIPPA MANNION 