Lambent
On the Fen, they wait for you
lanterns held to guide you in
to their quagmire caltrop trap.
The sucking, stinking peat
sea-salted silt where you could be
preserved for future gawpers:
Your frit-faced, leather-skin mask
askew from the weight
of centuries of mud.
Charley Reay is a writer and spoken word artist from the Lincolnshire Fens. She is currently based in Newcastle Upon Tyne, where she has lived for almost a decade. Her poems have been published by I Am Not A Silent Poet and Writers Against Prejudice. She is a regular performer on the North East spoken word scene.