and mary
in her corner
perched before her usual
reading out aloud
from her watch tower
bits of plane crash train crash
parts of tidal wave flag wave
imminent meteorite disaster
telling
to terry
how she once did hands
in a dish advert
how she nearly once did feet
in a shoe show
how once
upon a country road
was in surprising touchspeak
with the aliens
within amazing wingspan
of the angels
then
can you tell me, she asks,
through the thick, how far forty mile is,
mick,
and if not that, pat,
then what kind of fruit you get
from the coconut mat