Stars and Flags
‘It’s old light, and there’s not much of it. But it’s enough to see by’
Margaret Atwood, Cat’s Eye
Sandstone walls erected in water borders at night
flags flapping above
squares, stripes and triangles in bright colours
combined to separate, mark identity and division,
their clear cut shapes don’t know
the blurring of indecision and contradiction.
On the tree, six silkworms gnaw mulberry leaves,
Bombyx mori, civilization memento mori.
The news waiting at the door
back from the dark with predictions of unredeemed world
the inevitable falling, falling of humans.
Carla Scarano D’Antonio obtained her Degree of Master of Arts in Creative Writing at Lancaster University. She self-published a poetry pamphlet, A Winding Road, and is working on a PhD on Margaret Atwood at the University of Reading. She and Keith Lander won the first prize of the Dryden Translation Competition 2016 with translations of Eugenio Montale’s poems. Website:http://www.carlascaranod.co.uk/