Home Truths
Here are the woods, managed by a skilled crew,
and one good straight birch picked out
with a red stripe — is it condemned or chosen?
Here are the characters: the magpies check out
glitter for the nest, the crows fidget in the wind,
jays drop in like big pink toys on a visit.
Here, as if it mattered, the groceries listed
and followed round the dull little supermarket,
every one crossed off, glad to be of service.
And the house in the woods, like a scene of crime
as usual. You have to find things like soap,
and gold, and logs for the stove, but it’s home.
Peter Daniels has two collections, Counting Eggs (Mulfran, 2012) and A Season in Eden (Gatehouse, 2016). His translations of Khodasevich from Russian (Angel Classics, 2013) were shortlisted for three awards. He has also written the obscene Ballad of Captain Rigby.