Oracles
Each year I am looking for signs,
a white pebble, a dropped feather,
shy shadow’s shape, red thread burning,
how the beans fall in bright patterns,
a walnut’s voyage in a silver bowl,
sailing a birthday candle through night waters.
I must hold onto something, wax
poured through a keyhole, the last cherry
leaf, kept heart sure in my pocket.
I need these stories to tell myself,
that the world is real, and the dead gather
at my table still, misting the silver
with ghost breath, appearing in mirrors
by lamplight, revealing the way on.
Alison Jones’ work has been widely published in journals such Poetry Ireland Review, Proletarian Poetry, The Interpreter’s House, The Green Parent Magazine and The Guardian. Her pamphlets, Heartwood (2018) and Omega (2020) were published by Indigo Dreams. She is working on a full collection.