White Girl’s Sonnet for Barack Obama I come from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from Donegal, from Croatia, from Mont Saint Michel, from Troy Hill, from a long line of immigrants, from steel mills, racists and bigots, from the city of bridges, the Mon and Yough rivers, from egalitarian blowhards, from an infant left in a … Continue reading Two poems by Tess Barry
Tag: Poetry
‘The Counterplayer Gazes In and Lives to Play the Tale’ by Dzifa Benson
What is the meaning of Legba’s red baritone saxophone in the Five Spot Café at midnight? On the cliff face of this wet indigo, he is the man who tied water. A trumpet sounds: the prince is in a hurry to dance in the street. Sometimes it sounds like the boom of the earth stretching … Continue reading ‘The Counterplayer Gazes In and Lives to Play the Tale’ by Dzifa Benson
‘The Kaleidoscope My Big Brother Gave Me’ by Ann Leahy
The Kaleidoscope My Big Brother Gave Me It created geometric processions out of rooms: made a pair of butterflies rise from a fireside chair, caused a ball of wool to fan and become a guelder-rose, a cylinder of gas to spoke into a four-pronged star, eight eyes to glisten from a hot-plate ringed with chrome. … Continue reading ‘The Kaleidoscope My Big Brother Gave Me’ by Ann Leahy
‘Aquarius’ by Miranda Peake
All day we lived with the thought of you, celeriac remoulade and Boeuf Bourguignon covered our plates as we lifted two glasses of sun and toasted your name. Later we wandered down Tottenham Court Road, stopping for love seats and dining room chairs. We sat on sofas and questioned the depth of shelves. We … Continue reading ‘Aquarius’ by Miranda Peake
‘His Heart’ by Raymond Antrobus
His Heart turned against him in a chicken shop. He said my heart is falling out as he slipped into dreams of his mother in Jamaica. He came through in hospital, longing for the woman, dead twenty years. His son visits and they spend half an hour holding hands. There is a needle in his … Continue reading ‘His Heart’ by Raymond Antrobus
‘The remembering business’ by Rishi Dastidar
The remembering business Today a truth was decided, | | Like marching ghosts, we rip seven centuries ago, that | | pages out of ourselves to tell you bread and wine could be | … Continue reading ‘The remembering business’ by Rishi Dastidar
‘Chasing Rainbows’ by Jill Abram
Chasing Rainbows I am trekking in the arid centre where willy willies lift terracotta dust onto my skin to stick by sweat kilned by sun until I am claybound I used to get stuck in … Continue reading ‘Chasing Rainbows’ by Jill Abram
‘And What We Know About Time’ by Tania Hershman
When it failed to alarm, my father took the clock apart. Laid it all out on the kitchen table. While the dog dreamed and snored, we watched him clean every piece, then, with breaths held, attempt reassembly. It worked perfectly for the next ten years, which was odd, given the sixteen horological components my … Continue reading ‘And What We Know About Time’ by Tania Hershman
‘Citizenship Ceremony’ by Caroline Smith
Citizenship Ceremony Every few months a timetable clash means the Citizenship Ceremony and the asylum surgery converge. From outside the council chamber, as each new citizen is made, we can hear the patter of applause. It is rain to parched, thirsty soil – every head turns and lifts towards the sound. (from The … Continue reading ‘Citizenship Ceremony’ by Caroline Smith
‘On the Fence’ by Sharon Black
On the Fence The view’s not bad. Between the patchwork of prejudice and the roll of logic, on a clear day you can see right across to the Cairngorms, rising like indignation in the distance. No need for reason this high up. The grass is green whichever way you look. Sometimes I amuse myself with … Continue reading ‘On the Fence’ by Sharon Black
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