Lobster tail

Uncommon to find such a thing up here,
beyond the exhausted seaweed,
vacated mussel shells and limp
trawlermen’s gloves in bleached out
blue or yellow rubber, their fingers
often present if somewhat perished;
but there it was, cradled among the
whirled nests of exhausted marram
woven untidily through a scalp
of sutured pebbles. Time had melted
flesh away, revealing the miracle
of its engineering, in segments
and articulations, a suit of armour
still functioning in our snow-bitten,
astonished fingers, as we prowled
the empty shore, pleased to find
such a simple gift, today of all days.

 

first published in Ink, Sweat and Tears, 2018

Two poems in “Night Music Journal”

Its very fine indeed to have two of my poems – “Aftermaths” and “Upon waking” – appearing in Volume 7 of Night Music Journal.  You can find this latest volume here.

I’m very grateful to NMJ editor J Worthen for taking these.

Poem up at “Clementine Unbound”

I’m well pleased that one of my poems – “We bury our fathers” – is making an appearance just now at the online poetry journal Clementine Unbound.

My thanks go out to editor G.F. Boyer for giving this poem a home.

Being let go

Being let go

 

After the umpteenth time of having you

crawl urgently towards her in the darkness,

 

she opened up her hand to you and

showed you what emptiness truly is.

 

Being already cut adrift, she sat quiet

as an island while you wept out your dignity

 

into the abyss, suddenly opened up; watched you

rolling away, your fish-eyes now aware

 

of all those truths that were hiding patiently

behind your shoulder until a moment before.

 

first published in Ariel Chart, 2018

Spit

 

 

Inches only beyond where the ripe green of the dune-edge

peters out, contour lines of springtide jetsam stripe the

crushed shell and sand in streamers of blackened

wrack, driftwood, charred and uncharred, and

empty-eyed gull cadavers. At its very tip,

the final, urgent elbow-crook of the

exhausted river, a volte-face

of its patient waters before

surrender to the waiting sea.

Turnstones turn stones, and

the still-living shelter,

people-shy, plovers,

oystercatchers,

eiders, waiting

for another

tide-switch

to remake

the world

anew.

 

 

first published in The Clearing, 2018.

Two poems appearing at Nine Muses Poetry

Very happy indeed to have two of my poems up today at the wonderful Nine Muses Poetry website. My thanks to editor Annest Gwilym for taking these poems.

Follow the link here and you’ll find “Barn Owl” and “High Burney, late winter” – High Burney being a small hill with a big view in the English Lake District.

Best wishes to all.

Poem accepted by The Bookends Review

I’ve received the lovely news today that one of my poems – “Over-thinking for beginners” – has been accepted for publication by The Bookends Review, and is scheduled to appear on the 28th September (which feels like a VERY long time away!). Really grateful to Jordan Blum and all the folks at TBR.

However you’re spending this holiday weekend, I hope you’re safe and well, and managing to connect in some way with family and friends.

Take it easy.

Poem accepted by “Clementine Unbound”

Delighted to hear that my poem “We bury our fathers” has been accepted for publication by online poetry journal Clementine Unbound, and will appear on May 19th.

I’m very grateful to editor G.F. Boyer for taking this one. I’ll post a link here when it goes live.

Hope you’re keeping well.

Four poems published today at Bindweed Magazine

So you wait ages and ages for an online literary magazine to publish your poems, then two pop up at once. On April Fool’s, of all days.

Bindweed Magazine has very kindly taken four of my efforts – “Inside-out”, “Growing advice for young rhubarb”, “Eaten up and spat out” and “Empty” – and you can find them here.

I’m very grateful to Leilanie Stewart and Joseph Robert for publishing these only hours after a poem of mine appeared in the first issue of Feral magazine.

Uncanny.

Poem in the first issue of Feral

I’m very pleased to have had one of my poems chosen for the inaugural issue of Feral, a new web-based literary journal of poetry and art. And I’m hugely grateful to the editorial team of Beth Gordon, Adedayo Adeyemi Agarau and Kolawole Samuel Adebayo for the honour.

You’ll find “Notes made at the start of our small civil war” and the rest of the issue here.

Hope you and your loved ones are safe and well.