​I remember

When I won ‘The Unlucky Lottery’ again.

Our insurance company forgot the extra days

For our stay in that hotel in central Tonbridge.

I was homeless in the cold weather,

In a car park with every belonging I owned,

While my insurance company got a right royal telling off—

Not from the Royals themselves, unfortunately...

I wish.

I remember the hallway, lined with our lives—

Suitcases, carrier bags, and snacks piled against the wall,

Pushed out of the rooms because the paperwork failed us all.

After countless calls to family and friends,

A friend finally put me and my Mum up.

Half the family at the Leicester Arms,

Half in the "Shaggy Dog" hotel—but there are no dogs there,

Just the memory of when Mum named her "Shaggy Dog,"

Back at our home, our burnt-out shell.

I remember when we arrived, it was set for three:

Two in the bed and one on the sofa.

I remember how we did poetry as a double act that evening.

I remember that bed becoming my heaven—

A king-size for one, with its purple striped duvet,

A sanctuary for a thirty-year-old to finally drift away.

I remember looking over at two fully grown women

Top-and-tailing on the sofa under a grey crochet knit,

Like you do when you’re five at a sleepover, loving every bit.

I remember them giggling at 1:00 AM still,

Sharing a pillow and a laugh against the chill.

I hold onto the laughter and the way the light hit the room,

Because when everything else is gone, these are the things that bloom.

The house may be gone, but these moments stay fast,

These memories are the only memories we’ll ever have.

 

© Jessica Washford 2026