The Editor
 
Maxwell used to eat by swallowing great
bunching fistfuls of food,
gargling thick spills of cooling gravy.
Throat cluttered with cigar smoke –
he would cough,putting an abrupt end to
conversation.
Punctuating peppered hacks with one dab
of the finger –
the boys twitched,nervous,taking notes.
 
An  orbit  rotated  round  this  figure
– himself, as  stock still as  a stone.
A braised  chunk  of  ham  pushed  pink
flesh  between  strong  fingers – honey
glaze dripped and pooled on  the plate.
He  rumbled  instructions,  a  baritone
scrape,
and  the  cutlery  of  those  listening
hovered  above  the  porcelain  waiting
for that final cut.



* Andy Spragg is a poet. He has a blog at www.brokenloop.blogspot.com He is a regular contributor to Maddog Magazine, as well as founding member of the Norwich Poetry Choir. In recent months he has completed the script for SHOEBOX, a performance piece being staged by The Effort in 2010. He is current editor for www.placetononplace.tumblr.com