Sunday

We did not do much, but we did it well,

you got up at nine, I woke at ten.

The quiet stayed with us a while,

we weren’t in any rush just then.

You brought me something cool to drink.

I smiled and asked, half-true,

what kind of place you’d gone in sleep,

what your dreaming took you through.

You sat at the table, brush in hand,

I read on the couch nearby,

By afternoon the light had planned

To spill gold across the sky.

You pointed out clouds drifting slow,

A magpie cut the blue,

For a little while we let it go

And nothing else felt true.

You spilled the rice and shook your head,

complained for quite a while.

We swept it up, and what you said

soon turned to a smile.

We grew so tired we had to rest,

you dozed and I did too,

then dinner called us from our nest

to do what lovers do.

I boiled the parsnips, you mashed the mash,

I spoke of what I’d read.

You asked what might be coming next,

where all the pages led.

I looked at all the paint you’d laid,

and chose a place for green.

You packed your things for morning’s light,

I helped, just in between.

I hid a note inside your lunch,

small words, but true and sweet:

“Same time next weekend?” in a bunch

of things you’d need to eat.

We did not do much, but I loved it still

in every little way.

I’m glad we met, I’m glad we’re us,

I’m glad for this small day.

Jules Risingham (she/her) is a Yorkshire based writer and scriptwriter. She takes a collaborative approach to writing, taking inspiration from; the creative team she works with, workshop participants, and snippets of conversations heard from passersby. She loves creating work for people who may not have access to the arts, hoping to make spaces for curiosity, interaction, and learning.

Select previous works include; ‘Gentle Lunette’ (Dillenia Dance Theatre - toured North East Cinemas and Art Galleries), ‘Christmas with the Stevens’ (Created for the Gateshead Carers Association AGM), ‘The Stories You Want To Tell’ (Kyra Women's Project in partnership with York Theatre Royal - shortlisted for the RSC’s 37 Plays Project), 'New Girl' (a family theatre show adapted from Danielle Webb's Mummy There's a New Girl - produced by Next Door But One and Thunk-It Theatre) and ‘The Shambles Saves Christmas’ (Thunk-It Theatre CIC, supported by Visit York).