Lucia Dove
Mid-March I’m on my feet and running.
I have been living with the spiders
I used to be scared of but now they are company
I don’t mind them so much.
I wish writing poetry came as easily as it used to.
I think this is not a poem but shame. Some would argue
that shame makes this a poem, but I wish they wouldn’t.
I wish it didn’t. I go to the cinema to let the spiders
have the house for a while, though they don’t pay rent.
I suppose I am a good housemate to let them live.
I worry that the sight of my drying pots and plates
upsets the view of my neighbour living opposite.
Mid-March I have lived here for eight years
but this thought has only just occurred. It is hard
not to feel embarrassed. Living here is becoming easier
and once it is easy, I’ll probably leave.
Lucia Dove is based between Southend-on-Sea and Amsterdam. Her creative nonfiction book VLOED was published by Dunlin Press in 2021. She has published two pamphlets, The Prize (Legitimate Snack) and Say cucumber (Broken Sleep Books). Her poetry has also appeared in magazines including The Poetry Review and The Tangerine.
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