weather forecast for the funeral
 
there is a chance of deer grazing
of mica rising in stone

of knee deep sphagnum
of two blank pages

there is a chance of roses

of lips being sealed
of starling clouds yielding

of a gurgle in the ditch
of snipe wings on the grass

of three small windows
there is chance of a vole unravelled by an owl

of sky made free
of doors a-swing on hasps

 

 

Lydia Harris has made her home in the Orkney island of Westray. Her pamphlet A Small Space was awarded first prize in the 2019 Paper Swans Competition. Objects for Private Devotion, her first full collection is to be published by Pindrop this year.