States of Poetry - Poems
States of Poetry 2016 - South Australia | 'Babysitting' by Jelena Dinic
by Jelena Dinic •
for Mia
I wore my grandmother's clothes
and sat on her doorstep.
Monday to Friday.
She talked.
I lied.
'I'll teach you how to write,' I said
pretending I could
hold a pen.
'Mouse will eat your ears,' she smiled.
At night we leaned on pillows
watched TV with subtitles.
I made up foreign words.
I told her it was mostly German.
'Tell me more', she said.
'Tomorrow,' I said.
'Tomorrow is Saturday,' she replied.
Jelena Dinic