Gina Wilson
To My Neighbour's Husband
Your gift of damsons took me by surprise.
I kept them heaped in a bowl for a day or two
and was drawn, time and again, to my kitchen’s edge
by the pull of their darkness, veiled in bloom.
I handled one, rolling it in my palm,
rubbing with the ball of my thumb,
till its blue-black lustre shone out
like coal brought into the light.
Detaching their stalks and small curling leaves
joined me with you in their picking,
innocent pleasure;
more business-like, washing them,
weighing them, filling the pan -
four ounces of sugar to sixteen of fruit.
One, with a rubbery, clear ooze of gum,
I tasted, uncooked: my tongue furred
with rust and remorse.
I left them simmering, till warm flowery
scentedness brought me downstairs
to find black coats split open
and froth foaming pink.
Dear Dan, the damsons from your garden
have skins that spread in my mouth,
strong flesh, like a man’s; they are staining my mind
with indelible purple.
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