Dad IV

I glimpse

your ghost

in

the sure hands

of a carpenter,

the polished grain

of Oregon pine,

the automatic way I

switch off the light when leaving a room,

the geometric folding of

a newspaper

on the train,

UPPER-CASE EMAILS,

those who talk to

dogs

as if they were human,

to humans

as if they were

joy itself,

the cheerful scatting

of a man in his shed,

brother’s

exasperation when someone goes right

to turn left,

sliced tomato on toast,

and – every morning –

in the shapes

of my

toes

BBC – Horizon – The Ghost in Your Genes