Shadow Songs
Compas
He asked us to leave the window open
half way, just in case the blackened
glass should deflect the stars, spin
them off and he wouldn't know how
to come back; so we sit here, by the open
windows tapping to him, slow bulereas.
El Loco
The madman is thin, stands on the edge,
like death preparing for us. He bends
his knees, slowly tilts his pelvis forward
til he reaches the start position,
which is not like ours, but his own.
He is a hinge for a three way door,
which way will we go? if we choose one,
we can eat at his table, another
and forever we dance in too-tight shoes.
He looks at me, raises his hands
to pray, draws the deepest breath,
sucks me in, pauses, then claps
out my last heart beats.
Female Solo
A voice, deep, trembles;
asks, what is the shape
of the dark
of the cave.
Blue-black breath rises;
my shawl trails tassels
that are red
and long.
His deep throat cries
seem very bright
in here, in the dark.
They smell of ginger
and sand
and lies.
I stamp my feet,
make him hear me
even though it hurts,
even though the nails
in the toes of my shoes
are driving right through
drawing blood.
I stamp for him,
and although the black
is so complete I cannot see
my hand, or my shawl
or my blood;
I see him,
he is smiling.
magazine list
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- Atlas
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- Cannon's Mouth, The
- Chroma
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- Dream Catcher
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- Floating Bear, The
- French Literary Review, The
- Frogmore Papers, The
- Global Tapestry
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- Interpreter's House, The
- Iota
- Journal, The
- Lamport Court
- London Magazine, The
- Magma
- Matchbox
- Matter
- Modern Poetry in Translation
- Monkey Kettle
- Moodswing
- Neon Highway
- New Welsh Review
- North, The
- Oasis
- Obsessed with pipework
- Orbis
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- Painted, spoken
- Paper, The
- Pen Pusher Magazine
- Poetry Cornwall
- Poetry London
- Poetry London (1951)
- Poetry Nation
- Poetry Review, The
- Poetry Salzburg Review
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- Private Tutor
- Purple Patch
- Quarto
- Rain Dog
- Reach Poetry
- Review, The
- Rialto, The
- Second Aeon
- Seventh Quarry, The
- Shearsman
- Smiths Knoll
- Smoke
- South
- Staple
- Strange Faeces
- Tabla Book of New Verse, The
- Thumbscrew
- Tolling Elves
- Ugly Tree, The
- Weyfarers
- Wolf, The
- Yellow Crane, The