Janet Lincoln
'I Didn't Think Much Of It, Two Years Ago'
I didn’t think much of it, two years ago
When he was sixteen, buying Bero a
Dress ring.
But I thought, puppy love.
I thought even less of it
When Bero’s father took Bin to one side
To tell him that his daughters were not
Available to white boys, even those with good intentions.
They started marriage consultations for her.
Bin found another girlfriend.
That ended in disaster, and before long, Bero
Was sitting with Bin on my sofa, waiting
For me to take the dogs somewhere, for an hour.
Now, they sit here by the fire, holding hands
Staring. Talk intermittently.
Bero has a photo of her future husband.
Bin walks her to the bus stop at 6.50pm.
When he comes back he says
Why do women have legs? No?
Have you seen the mess snails make?
I don’t like it, and wonder if Bero hates men.
I don’t like it, but what can I do?
I brought my kids up
To see people, not colours.
magazine list
- Features
- zines
- 10th Muse
- 14
- Acumen
- Agenda
- Ambit
- Angel Exhaust
- ARTEMISpoetry
- Atlas
- Blithe Spirit
- Borderlines
- 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
- Oxford Poetry
- Painted, spoken
- Paper, The
- Pen Pusher Magazine
- Poetry Cornwall
- Poetry London
- Poetry London (1951)
- Poetry Nation
- Poetry Review, The
- Poetry Salzburg Review
- Poetry Scotland
- Poetry Wales
- 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