my father wears a yellow mask
my father wears a yellow mask
leans into the wooden staff
—a farmer’s gift from Dartmoor—
years before.
His legs unsteady,
my legs unsteady, perhaps autumn already knows
our quest for apples, led us here
to this shelf lined with white paper
where the blood-red and gold St Magdalen,
the Reinette du Canada,
are plagued-spaced like us;
shoppers with clouded cores, cold,
looking for a rise of heart-gold after leaving the hospital
Helen Pletts (www.helenpletts.com) (Instagram @helen.pletts) Working collaboratively as Word & Image by Pletts & Berger with illustrator Romit Berger, since 2011 (published exclusively online by www.inksweatandtears.co.uk). ‘The plane tree entertains the circus of doves’ won Ink Sweat &Tears Pick of the Month, March 2019. Helen’s poetry was shortlisted for Bridport Poetry Prize 2018, 2019 and 2022, longlisted for The Rialto Nature and Place Competition 2018 and 2022, longlisted for the Ginkgo Prize 2019.
Romit Berger: “I am a graphic designer. I met my very dear friend, Helen Pletts, in Prague, several years ago. Helen’s 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.”
Pletts & Berger’s Word & Image collection your eye protects the soft-toed snowdrop is published in hardback by Gama Poetry Press 2022 https://www.gamaisrael.com/poetry.
A limited number of copies will be available from IS&T in the new year. Please contact Kate at enquiries@inksweatandtears.co.uk for details.