My daughter Sophie was in Megan's year at uni and because of this I felt Megan's death very deeply. I have since become friends with Jackie and hope to raise money for Don't Drink and Drown later this year. I wrote this poem about what might have happened, although of course, I don't know. What I want the poem to say is that I wish it was possible to turn back time, so the events never happened ...

Rewind
Released by murky depth,
the whirlpool will let you go.
You’ll rise, up onto the bank, stumbling,
pick up your shoes.
Your name will be sucked back
into friends’ throats,
they’ll wave and together you’ll teeter,
up the steps,
over cobbles and into a bar.
Sambucca shots will leap,
sticky, into glasses,
forward with a flick of an elbow.
You’ll un-send the message
telling your friends to go on without you
and delete the pouting selfie
with a boy you won’t meet now.
Your drunken shrieks
will be swallowed up by giggling
your nauseous tilt,
straightened into order.
You’ll go home now.
Retrace your steps, backwards
through early evening streets,
tipsy on pre-drinks but steady enough.
Reverse through your front door,
and upstairs, to undress, twice,
uncurl your hair, take off the make-up,
your lipstick smile.