Levertov's Ladder   Leaving, she saw them eat Her words –and The left-over gravy In that re-devised tumbled Down shack  Where The hawk-weed Grows but doesn’t erase The colour Of...

      Patience Here, the cat is a rosebud on the corner of the bed. Here, I lie still, swallowing air, as the sun paints squares on the walls around me. Here, I dream only of trees;...

  The Absence of Birds The leaves rustle releasing a surprised sparrow, thrushes answer one another, the red kite static above my head, I trace the magpie’s undulating flight and hear rooks...

    Suspicious Nouns She tells him that she loves him. She tells him that she feels bad. She tells him that she feels bad because she’s cheating on her boyfriend with him. She wonders if...

  Egg V: Hatching This morning, I am frozen by the fecundity of birds: their binge-drunk chorus is already Greek and monstrous as Sirens, even before the sun catches up with the day.  What if...

      PG Certificate Denholm is leaning Joan’s DVD of The Trial (the Welles adaptation) against his window, overlooking the gravel driveway. On the cover, a collage: Jeanne Moreau...

    Kizelbel, September 2004 For R. Last night was all too perfect. The only noise was the local crickets’ nightly jam session in the hills. All conversation was up against insect music,...