This was first published in an anthology of prose poetry, by Cinnamon Press in 2011 – This Line Is Not For Turning,
It’s late; crowds of kids drink and josh on the grass lawn in front of the Royal Crescent. A boy, tumbling from the bushes, adjusts his trousers. He stands, comfortably, on the path in front of me. We appraise each other.
It’s my birthday, he says.
I nod.
Guess how old.
I weigh up the implications of possible answers.
15?
He nods.
People always over estimate. I’m 13. It’s a milestone.
I nod.
Today?
He nods
Also Steven Gerrard, Harry Enfield, Clint Eastwood and, he peers at the crowd on the green, my mate’s dad.
One day he’ll notice that people prefer to underestimate.
It’s a milestone.
April 12th 2008, Bath
Poetry by Sylvia Fairclough 