Dog Woman (Paula Rego)
The leaded grey of pencil and charcoal
are cross hatched waters rupturing,
her mouth opens to the beast in us –
she howls at first gently like a wolf as the
moon opens wider over all the animals
in the depths of night and I open every
pore in my voice, every sound in my
hunched body, all beads of sweat turn
into minutes of purpose, into ellipses,
bubbles, smoke clouds that carry the
weight under my hips into morning air –
And the night fox crosses the road with
a bird in his mouth, snapping flowers
under foot to his den, stops silently to listen
to the barks of a dog as they cross territories
invisibly, both hungry like the dog woman
and my own catch as he swims to my chest
whimpering for food.
*Agnieszka Studzinska studied at Norwich School of Art and Design and the UEA. She has had various jobs in broadcasting but now teaches in London, where she lives with her husband and two children. Her debut collection, Snow Calling (Salt Modern Poets) was shortlisted for the London New Poetry award 2010.
