Custody
Their gloved hands held tight crossing the road to final moments the child's walk morphed into a skip while proud father kept his adult stride His Baltic features warm with smiles chilled by the north wind blowing between the great buildings and rows of weekend parking The stretching adult hand grasps air a back pat missed to fleeting feet now an empty space of childish stature is a vacuum filling with feelings The father's smile melts to pain regret and sorrow leads him away to the other side his child runs to maternal custody Broad shoulders crouch into lonely amble pockets bury his empty hands the strong demeanour crushed beneath his angry frown Mother and child embracing one hundred metres and a world apart two sides to one story, both true both real, and a child is in between. - Ciaran Burke