Safe In The Tumble Down House – Written Thursday 21st May 2026

Safe In The Tumble Down House

Safe in the tumble down house,
with the cracked wooden unit,
as Wake Up Little Suzy plays on a forgotten stereo.
All of this
plays from within the fragments of my memories.
For example,
I don’t see her,
but I feel her,
I feel the fake fur of her 1970’s grey coat,
and I am sat on her lap,
looking up at trees overhanging the road.
They are rushing by, but I feel safe.
But then,
not always so safe in the tumble down house,
and the other places,
as he chased the alcohol
and a thousand female faces.
It meant
that we were never really safe in the tumble down house.
And perhaps
I thought we were,
but I was so small,
digging soldiers out of the garden.
I could never know
what our lives had yet to reveal,
and how family life
would eventually become a sour liquid that started to congeal.
I was small, with tiny hands,
and those tiny hands could only wait for life,
and wait for it to reveal its plans.
But I am sure
there must have been a time
when I felt safe in the tumble down house.

James Garratt – Thursday 21st May 2026

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