A Jar of Starfish
You may think it’s because there’s so little room,
but I believe we are holding each other so we don’t forget
the way water holds us.
At first glance, you may be forgiven for thinking us Autumn
leaves – a crisped selection of burgundy and claret.
This is just survival, a showing of our blood.
Each of our fingers are sharper than when we arrived.
Yes, we have become spiky and cunning – one of us
is fashioning a lock-pick from her most northerly point.
Claire Walker’s latest pamphlet publication is Collision (Against the Grain Poetry Press, 2019). Recent magazine publications include The Four Faced Liar and Lighthouse, and she was runner-up in the Pre-Raphaelite Society Poetry Prize 2023. Claire is co-editor of Atrium poetry webzine. X: @ClaireWpoetryInstagram: @claire_louise_walker
Note: Written from part of a collection at the Grant Museum of Zoology