Morning, Mister Magpie
Think of all the chain letters you had to write,
the time you were almost knocked down
crossing to avoid a window cleaner’s ladder,
the look on your face when I put that brolly up indoors.
For you, 13 isn’t an ordinary number,
can’t understand why anyone would live there,
the digits brazenly hammered to the door
and no horseshoe above them to neutralise evil.
How can you live in fear of malevolent forces,
hark back to ducking stools and poppets,
hexes cast against crops and cattle,
when bad things happen to you all the same?
No amount of salt over the shoulder,
black cats or new shoes off the table
will prevent whatever might come your way.
Didn’t I tell you once that everyone is lucky?
Ben Banyard lives in Portishead, on the Severn Estuary just outside Bristol, UK. His third collection, Hi-Viz, was published by Yaffle Press in 2021 and is available via his website: https://benbanyard.wordpress.com. Ben also edits Black Nore Review: https://blacknorereview.wordpress.com