Safe Sounds, Carol Ann Duffy

Safe Sounds

You like safe sounds:
the dogs lapping at their bowls;
the pop of a cork on a bottle of plonk
as your mother cooks;
the Match of the Day theme tune
and Doctor Who-oo-oo.

Safe sounds:
your name called, two happy syllables
from the bottom to the top of the house;
your daft ring tone; the low gargle
of hot water in bubbles. Half asleep
in the drifting boat of your bed,
you like to hear the big trees
sound like the sea instead.

Carol Ann Duffy

The Dark, Carol Ann Duffy

The Dark

If you think of the dark
as a black park
and the moon as a bounced ball,
then there’s nothing to be frightened of
at all.

(Except for aliens…)

Carol Ann Duffy