water and the angel
cold sea feathers sand and sea-wall, surfing lower graves,
the path to her high pedestal; she, who bears her wings
safe-folded, one hand open, welcoming the waves
she knows will not advance, not till the safe hill cracks
and earth unfolds its shivering dead
lost villagers will rise before she fails; she does not tell
the sea, but stares, half-lichened, east, her smooth cheek
meek, her pillar honing wind
the angel does not fly, marks early sun, the dolphin sea
dog-roses swirling fence and pillar:
steals their scent, envying the briefness of their seasoned thorn
their lack of flight, lack of wings
clouds whisper: still, the angel will not fly
nor will she rise as light diminishes in floodlit skies. Star-
proud, she will not hear, will not stir from her clear hill
to soar against the moon, a single lily at her breast
wings folded, eyes fixed firmly on the sea she knows will
not advance, however close the tiered reflections:
tides have stalked her calm since that first hour her form
hung sweet above the hill; the sea has known
her marble in all weathers, sung to her deaf ear
in sun and storm, sent waves to fold the angel
soft in sheltering sand
Sea sings, the angel stands
it is her nature, though the wings confuse
there is solidity in earth, there is solidity
in movement imperceptible to ear, to eye:
the hill's slow flight rings louder to the angel
than all the rock-dark years pressed under-sea, years
that swept her to this light, winged birth, this high place
on the hill
she minds the grass, the sea, the song of flowers
Page(s) 4-5
magazine list
- Features
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- 10th Muse
- 14
- Acumen
- Agenda
- Ambit
- Angel Exhaust
- ARTEMISpoetry
- Atlas
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- Brando's hat
- Brittle Star
- Candelabrum
- Cannon's Mouth, The
- Chroma
- Coffee House, The
- Dream Catcher
- Equinox
- Erbacce
- Fabric
- Fire
- Floating Bear, The
- French Literary Review, The
- Frogmore Papers, The
- Global Tapestry
- Grosseteste Review
- Homeless Diamonds
- 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
- Poetry Scotland
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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