Poetry Magazines - The best collection of poetry magazines online - Simon Armitage

                        two white butterflies
                        fly free inside a fruit cage
                        chlorophyll colours

    Yesterday. Sunbathing. Hide inside beach dunes. For an hour. Before parking ticket expires. Early evening. She swallows a pill. Not to improve sleep. This is deeper. Recuperative sleep. Unformed breathing almost snores. Behind her closed eyes. Is visible. I mean, in my sleep something is almost visible.

                                withering winds
                                the face of one suffering 
                                from swollen cheeks                    Bashō

    Next day cheeks are red. There is no denying. More than sunburn. This is flame. She, poor thing, suffers. Cold flannel compress. Cools but not cures. Depressed. Will not go out. Will not be seen. Closes a bedroom door. Pulls curtains. Into bed. Sheet covers. All of her. Foetal shape forms.

                                 distant love
                                 the problem
                                 is behind my lips

    Emergency dentist appointment. Today. Midday. ‘Don’t be late!’ Recent repair to a front upper tooth. Disrepaired. Negative space a chasm. ‘Mirror, mirror, on the wall....’. Mirrors do not lie. A horse and cart could, as they say, drive through. This is supposed to be my day, my anxiety, my pain, my happy self-pity, my moment to wallow. This is my special, mothering day. I want her with me. Selfish? Maybe. So what! Say I can’t drive home. You hadn’t thought of that, had you? Unlikely? But, these days, who knows?

                                the power of her dream
                                fades from sight
                                a horsefly lands