Harvest
After stripping the branches of berries
the robin held a handful of seeds
in her stomach: the robin carried a tree
– in fact she secretly sowed a whole forest –
a store of bows and arrows and shields.
Years found the bird had planted a battle,
her tiny body had borne the new king.
Men looked up to the skies and blessed
or blamed the planets moving overhead.
A blackbird, meanwhile, started to pick
at the fruit both armies had left.
(previously published in Dazzle Ship and Entanglements: New Ecopoetry, Two Ravens Press)
Isabel Galleymore’s first pamphlet, Dazzle Ship, was published by Worple Press in 2014. Her work has featured in magazines such as Poetry Review, Poetry London and The Rialto. Isabel is currently finishing her thesis on ecopoetics at the University of Exeter and working on her first full collection of poems. She will be the Charles Causley Trust Poet-In-Residence in January. Twitter @IGalleymore
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