&
By Poppy Haynes
Between our names
you draw an
ampersand.
It is a careful knot.
Is this how you tied
your shoelaces
when you were small?
over & under & loop together
I learn about the ampersand -
it is a ligature, the ancient fusing of e & t
inky lacing of 'you' & 'me'
'We'
We make ampersands
with linked arms,
with our hands
palm against palm
knitting together like new bones
Poppy Haynes is a postgraduate student at the University of Otago.
