Poem for my son

By your bedside
A small wooden bird
Guards your soul
While you sleep
Breathing life
Keeping you safe
My shadow-soul.

In your dreams
If your soul is lost
He brings it back
And takes care of you
Until the light of dawn
Signals a new day
And sets you free.

Tour de France Prologue

Rotterdam rain
Road damp and greasy
Slippery city streets
Cavalier descent
Gravel and debris
Surface sketchy
Narrow twisty section
Blind bend
Off-camber
And tightening
Broad sweeping curve
Spinning back wheel
Losing traction
Slammed into barriers
Slipped out from bike
Over painted lines
Badly cut lip
Broken right thumb
Torn muscle in left thigh
Blood on the tarmac