{"id":20869,"date":"2019-12-27T08:00:38","date_gmt":"2019-12-27T08:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ink.verticalplus.co.uk\/archive\/?p=20869"},"modified":"2020-12-14T11:23:40","modified_gmt":"2020-12-14T11:23:40","slug":"on-the-sixth-day-of-christmas-we-bring-you-helen-pletts-romit-berger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/on-the-sixth-day-of-christmas-we-bring-you-helen-pletts-romit-berger\/","title":{"rendered":"On the Sixth Day of Christmas we bring you Helen Pletts & Romit Berger, Grant Tarbard, Z. D. Dicks"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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\n
Street dog<\/b><\/div>\n

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Soft fur, stroke fur<\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0in each and every fine hair<\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0your heat and life, best<\/div>\n
at quiet, knows ragged<\/div>\n
not.<\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 And in this hour,<\/div>\n
I plunge my hands into your fur<\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0and they are there. This.<\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The<\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0somewhere, where all my blue coat cuff<\/div>\n
tales talk of gutters –curved fallow–<\/div>\n
through the septal gills of drains.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0In every hour, only your twitching ear<\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0recounts our losses to the air.<\/div>\n
You shake. A momentary pulse-through-fur;<\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0one side floor-flat, the other<\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0half-rack my only own.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\n

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Helen Pletts<\/strong> (www.helenpletts.com<\/a> ) has two collections, Bottle bank<\/em> and For the chiding dove (<\/em>YWO\/Legend Press \u2013 supported by The Arts Council).\u00a0Bottle bank<\/em> was longlisted for The Bridport Poetry Prize 2006, under Helen\u2019s maiden name, Bannister. Also published in Aesthetica, Orbis, The Fenland Ree<\/em>d.\u00a0Working collaboratively on Word and Image (published exclusively by www.inksweatandtears.co.uk) with Romit Berger, illustrator, since 2012. Helen\u2019s poetry was longlisted for The Rialto Nature and Place Competition 2018 and shortlisted for the Bridport Poetry Prize in 2018. Helen\u2019s poem ‘The Grey Seal Speaks’ was selected in 2019 for the climate change awareness anthology entitled <\/span>Planet in Peril<\/span><\/em>\u00a0available from <\/span>https:\/\/www.flyonthewall<\/a><\/span><\/span>. Helen’s poetry was longlisted for the 2019 Ginkgo Prize competition.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Romit Berger<\/strong>:\u00a0 \u201cI am a graphic designer. I met my very dear friend, Helen Pletts, in Prague, several years ago. Helen\u2019s inspiration has led my graphic design career into that magical realm which combines illustration and poetry, and our creative wings continue to connect our souls through time and distance.\u201d<\/div>\n
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extract from dog<\/strong><\/em>
\n36.<\/strong>Dog\u00a0thought\u00a0of\u00a0Christmas\u00a0as\u00a0his\u00a0dizzy\u00a0child
\nworshipped\u00a0in\u00a0bouncing\u00a0temples,\u00a0feeling\u00a0elastic
\nby\u00a0the\u00a0great\u00a0shaking\u00a0belly\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0city\u2019s\u00a0morning\u00a0bells
\nand\u00a0its\u00a0thousand\u00a0replying\u00a0inflections.\u00a0Dog\u00a0made\u00a0us
\nstand\u00a0on\u00a0Primrose\u00a0Hill\u00a0for\u00a0the\u00a0early,\u00a0as\u00a0he\u00a0called\u00a0it,
\nexfoliating\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0grand\u00a0dingdong.
\nWe\u00a0dressed\u00a0as\u00a0barnyard\u00a0animals,
\nas\u00a0dog\u2019s\u00a0father\u00a0had\u00a0taught\u00a0him.
\nThen\u00a0dog\u00a0ate\u00a0oysters\u00a0whilst\u00a0we\u00a0played
\nwith\u00a0the\u00a0shells.\u00a0After\u00a0that\u00a0we\u00a0would\u00a0shoot
\nlove\u00a0notes\u00a0into\u00a0trees,\u00a0dragging\u00a0a\u00a0trolley\u00a0of\u00a0booze
\nto\u00a0the\u00a0old\u00a0people\u2019s\u00a0home\u00a0and\u00a0we\u2019d drink
\nuntil\u00a0gravity\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0work and stingrays\u00a0hovered
\nabove\u00a0the\u00a0central\u00a0reservation\u00a0in\u00a0serious\u00a0thought.
\nGladys,\u00a0the\u00a0tattooed\u00a0lady,\u00a0turned\u00a0into\u00a0a\u00a0pillar
\nof\u00a0blue\u00a0bath\u00a0salts,\u00a0all\u00a0tube\u00a0stations\u00a0morphed
\ninto\u00a0a\u00a0green\u00a0harmonium\u00a0and\u00a0wheezed\u00a0in\u00a0unison
\nIt\u00a0Came\u00a0Upon\u00a0a\u00a0Midnight\u00a0Clear. All\u00a0the\u00a0wounded\u00a0animals
\nsang\u00a0along,\u00a0all\u00a0paintings\u00a0of\u00a0ships\u00a0at\u00a0sea\u00a0found\u00a0their\u00a0ports.
\nWhen\u00a0it\u00a0was\u00a0time\u00a0and\u00a0not\u00a0before,\u00a0dog\u00a0would\u00a0scoop\u00a0up
\nthe\u00a0day\u2019s\u00a0collection\u00a0of\u00a0sleepy\u00a0voices\u00a0and\u00a0boil
\nin\u00a0a\u00a0gentleman\u2019s\u00a0hat.\u00a0The\u00a0electricity\u00a0in\u00a0dog\u2019s\u00a0jaws\u00a0locked,
\nhis\u00a0teeth\u00a0flickered\u00a0like\u00a0moths\u00a0as\u00a0he\u00a0hiccupped\u00a0with\u00a0liquor
\nin\u00a0his\u00a0paunch\u2014\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0time\u00a0that\u00a0intoxicates\u00a0us,\u00a0not\u00a0the\u00a0puff
\nof\u00a0smoke\u00a0and\u00a0the\u00a0rattling\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0tambourine.
\nChristmas\u00a0snaked\u00a0away\u00a0a\u00a0model\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0universe,
\nframed\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0frost\u00a0of\u00a0our\u00a0window.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Grant Tarbard<\/strong> is the author of Loneliness is the Machine that Drives the World (<\/em>Platypus Press) and Rosary of Ghosts<\/em> (Indigo Dreams). His new pamphlet This is the Carousel Mother Warned You About<\/em> (Three Drops Press) and new collection dog (<\/em>Gatehouse Press) will be out soon.<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

Krampus<\/strong><\/p>\n

Krampus, as acid in stone
\nsinks into a scorched wood
\nhis black head frothing steam
\nbranches wince, naked
\nflutters of embers pile
\niced scarred and skinned<\/p>\n

His cleft hooves crunch
\nhalf goat and demon
\ndepress, burnt leaves
\ncrumbling ash into snow
\nheavy, cindered, falling
\nlogs pound up smoke<\/p>\n

A tongue, worm white
\nlolls between hook fangs
\nlong, curling down wet
\na maggot whip drips
\nas molten ore
\nearth moulding slag spit<\/p>\n

In one hand, a gift of coal
\nto mark young faces dirty
\nwith grey-glow to melt flesh
\nthe other holding a rattle
\na chain to clink and chitter
\nthrashing as bonfire cracks<\/p>\n

On his bramble hair back
\nstrapped, charred thatch
\nis rounded into a pit
\na barrel of cold to cage heat
\nempty, save for birch bundles
\nto tenderise taunted meat<\/p>\n

He lopes on the edge
\nof frostbitten kindling
\nwaiting for no moonshine
\nnods his horns to a clearing
\nat a man, emptying his sack
\nafter snores boil in shadow<\/p>\n

Krampus awaits a silent reply
\nSaint Nicolas bows out
\ngifts left red ribboned
\nand Krampus takes the waste
\nup clawed chimney flues
\nas his brother marches off
\nin sweat, shudders, shivering<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Z. D. Dicks<\/strong> has been accepted by Obsessed with Pipework, Sarasvati, Ink Sweat & Tears, Three Drops from a Cauldron, Fresh Air Poetry, I am not a silent poet, The Hedgehog Poetry Press<\/em> plus many more, and is described as \u2018a gothic Seamus Heaney\u2019 by Anna Saunders (Director of The Cheltenham Poetry Festival).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Street dog   Soft fur, stroke fur \u00a0 \u00a0in each and every fine hair \u00a0 \u00a0your heat and life, best at quiet, knows ragged not. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 And in this hour, I plunge my hands into your fur \u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[114],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-twelve-days-of-christmas-201920"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20869"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20869\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21021,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20869\/revisions\/21021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}