Valentia Light
There are storms on the way. Look,
look upwind.
How we crave
light. The southwesterly seethes.
It is coming in, the fierce ocean.
There is no defence against
the rock’s teeth, only
light.
And the waves, a cross-hatched expanse
whose white convexities
slap and suck
us down.
What seems like kind depth
is treacherous shallows.
What else can save us but
the light.
Lesley Curwen is a poet and broadcaster from Plymouth who often writes about coercive control. She won the Molecules Unlimited prize and was a finalist in the Wales Poetry Award. Her poems have been nominated for Forward and Pushcart Prizes. She can be found on @elcurwen.bsky.social and @elcurwen on instagram, and on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/