When my Grandad went out to wash the car,
Photography
she used the time to throw away his ‘clutter’.
Leon Ephraïm
I was five and her lookout. I watched him
happily hoovering while she tore through
his papers, and when he wound the hose up,
sent it slithering to its reel, I called her.
She flustered, pink-cheeked, back to her chair
as he clicked the door closed on the cold wind
that had scraped leaves around his feet
as he cleaned. His whistles warbled on, rising
and falling as he came in and out of doors
tidying, whipping creases from damp washing,
and asking if I would like my favourite for tea.
He busied himself as usual, unaware
of his losses and my treachery.
Jenny John currently lives in Thailand with her
husband and two young sons. Although she loves
her native Wales, after 29 years the rain and cold
drove her to seek warmth and adventure. She works
as a primary school teacher in an international
school and is due to start on a creative writing MA
this year.