On loving a dragon For one thing, dragons can’t cook: they burn everything. And they sigh— a lot! Try and rub a dragon’s back: it will not assuage them one bit. Above all, dragons love to be disagreeable: they deign to disagree. Their breath is better than one might think; it doesn’t stink, though it … Continue reading ‘On loving a dragon’ by Don Share
Author: And Other Poems
‘Instant Karma’ by Roy Marshall
Instant Karma The office cleaner sings beautifully and in Hindi. I ask her what her song means. 'The Lord says, I will give you what you want, when the time is right.' She leaves a world bright with belief, the mopped floor under my feet, the emptied bin of me. (from Gopagilla, first published … Continue reading ‘Instant Karma’ by Roy Marshall
A poem by Chrissie Gittins
Registrar She writes in pale blue indelible across the ruled page – place of birth, cause of death. In time, the ink will darken to slate. Later still, the veins of her letters will fill with indigo. My father’s blood drained from his face to gather at his spine. His chilly skin, still smooth … Continue reading A poem by Chrissie Gittins
A poem by Isobel Dixon
Kudu Watch Signs bloom mysterious, loom sudden, briefly luminous, moonflowers edged in red. Our lights create the road, its unremitting dashes are a pale Morse code, monotonous, as I count the kilometres mesmerised. Keep watch, still far to go. We are taking it slow tonight, this lonely stretch notorious for lulling the unwary to … Continue reading A poem by Isobel Dixon
‘Love and the Body’ by John Siddique
Love and the Body and all there is, is love and the body, nothing to give but this moment, and this moment and this moment, and all there has ever been is you and I so easily lost in the feelings, the reaching, and all there is, is love and the body. All these faces … Continue reading ‘Love and the Body’ by John Siddique
‘Rhyme Royale Sequence for Lady Macbeth’ by Sarah Doyle
Rhyme Royale Sequence for Lady Macbeth My husband lacks ambition; he is weak. For who’d be Thane, when he could be a King? I fear we may be ruined by his streak of cowardice, which threatens everything. But my resolve remains, unwavering; my fervour and my mettle, burning still. If he cannot perform the deed, … Continue reading ‘Rhyme Royale Sequence for Lady Macbeth’ by Sarah Doyle
A poem by Maria Taylor
Mr. Hill For Patricia For a while he’s gone back to his first wife, who’s decided to keep him on a mantelpiece with mouth-blown vases on either side. It means she’s had to speak to his mistress. They have more in common than she realised, but wonders if her toenails are still painted red. … Continue reading A poem by Maria Taylor
A poem by Julie Maclean
U plain every night when spring gets going we sit outside in fold-up chairs, yours ripped from being left out in the weather, mine hanging in by a thread you watch dragon flies like micro choppers on some reconnaissance or other I admire the sass of lily buds baby maggies teetering on the brink … Continue reading A poem by Julie Maclean
Two poems by John McCullough
Lichen It prefers untended places, drab corners where it arrives like a boon. Kerbs, slag heaps, skewed gravestones— the roofs of council estates it spots with yellow coins dropped from the sky. Soundless and rootless, it ventures small claims, its chintzy blooms opening on concrete as though it were love itself, giddy and bountiful, … Continue reading Two poems by John McCullough
‘Christopher’ by Roz Goddard
Christopher Oh, Christopher, believe me, I’m with you; it’s hard being ordinary, with a surfeit of feeling that won’t elegantly form itself. Inadequacy of thought, of sensibility is a grave handicap in this writing life we have chosen. Every day the same: stumbling in the alleys looking for a gift out of there, lost again … Continue reading ‘Christopher’ by Roz Goddard
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