Blackbird in Winter He’s on a branch above my head velvet feathers at touching distance, yellow ringed eye locked to mine. Is an alarm call frozen in his breast, the urge to fly curtailed by heavy air, or is it to preserve energy and heat that he keeps still? Can he see in me a … Continue reading ‘Blackbird in Winter’ by Roy Marshall
Author: And Other Poems
‘Will You Be My Friend, Kate Moss?’ by Kathryn Maris
Will You Be My Friend, Kate Moss? My daughter’s in your daughter’s ballet class. I sat beside you at the Christmas show? I really loved the outfit you had on! Three years ago I tried to emulate your look in Grazia: you can’t believe how hard it was to find some knee-high boots, a … Continue reading ‘Will You Be My Friend, Kate Moss?’ by Kathryn Maris
A poem by David Coldwell
Clocks Holding hands, we balance and hop in silence through the long grass so as not to wake the farm dogs. The metal field gate resists my push and prints a leaf green pattern on my coat whilst I shoulder it wide into the land. You’re riding high, holding tightly until thin pink wellingtons … Continue reading A poem by David Coldwell
‘Guppy Primer’ by Ruth McIlroy
I Beautiful Guppies don’t just happen. The secret is “sweat”, and attention to detail. Treat them to good live food when you pass them from the left, and siphon off 10% of their water when you pass them from the right. Replace the water with aged good water, such as Bronx, NY tap water, which … Continue reading ‘Guppy Primer’ by Ruth McIlroy
A poem by Rebecca Bird
Progression I from the bedroom, he sees a brigade of snow V through a streetlamp’s mottled brights, a cheap party moon that hangs in the streamers and calls it winter. Warm in a marriage bed, blankets clamouring like ancient choirs, he thinks of cinnamon drinks, white-capped cars, IV and not of the boy … Continue reading A poem by Rebecca Bird
Two poems by Maurice Devitt
First Days of Winter Trees blue and leafless, a doily of frost forms on the front lawn, first peelings of ice on pathways, winter coats stiff and reluctant. Words, chipped from frozen thoughts, disappear in a blur of breath, as movements slow and bony fingers burrow into gloves. Shoes, now too big for curled … Continue reading Two poems by Maurice Devitt
‘Anatomy’ by Jennifer Wong
Anatomy You brought me to see the collection at Lincoln Inn’s Fields, all skulls rib-cages valves fossils teeth cat’s villi red as corals sets of flawlessly preserved teeth taken from mammals. You gasped at the cutting truth behind the glass, the precision of the knife. Perhaps it’s not uncanny, this curiosity to gut, … Continue reading ‘Anatomy’ by Jennifer Wong
‘The Pale Horse’ by Lesley Ingram
At twilight she is still sitting with the book in her hand, staring through the window, looking for snow. Have you seen my horse? she says, eyes wild with loss. I smile, brush her hair. She purrs. She cups my face. I know you, she whispers, have you stolen my horse? I cover … Continue reading ‘The Pale Horse’ by Lesley Ingram
A poem by K.S. Moore
Shiver The wind soothsays in the key of G, sighing, I match my tone to his. In our duet I hold out strong, harmonise while he exhales, one lowing note that swoops, rounds, clarifies everything I know in a wild sonata. I close the window, end his song, believe in me, my solo pending, … Continue reading A poem by K.S. Moore
‘Gravity’ by Alan Buckley
Gravity by Alan Buckley The aerialist swings up and out, beyond the proscenium arch. She reaches the dead point of pure weightlessness, hair rippling outwards, lets go of the corde volante. We catch our breath: for a heartbeat body and rope are floating apart, electric air between them. Later, she’ll smile – Whatever you … Continue reading ‘Gravity’ by Alan Buckley
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