1. Find a Daddy’s girl, bright
as a button, let her down twice.

A fox cub walks down the centre
of the High St bold as brass one night

2. Lethimbenomorethanalad,
give him two older sisters.

A metal detectorist digs up a fourth century 
bejeweled pennant of a horse.

3. Put them in a call centre, give him
the courage to turn back on the stairs.

An actress forgets her lines in the second act 
and ad libs something inappropriate

4. Take him to the top of a ladder,
have him look down.

A teenage girl climbs out from a pothole
after thirty eight hours — live on the evening news

5. Let them take walks in their lunch breaks,
laminate passes swinging from their necks.

A hybrid delphinium blooms blue 
shows its stamens and pistils

6. Let them try it out for a while
in her parents’ spare room.

For one night only, the northern lights 
are visible in Middlesborough

7. Send them off to the ring road
for paint and cheap furniture.

A cowboy falls dead from the saloon roof
in the Sunday afternoon movie

8. Set them off with keepsakes
and a fair wind.