Today’s choice
Previous poems
Clare Bryden
The long arc
I
seek justice
and you hold
a seashell to your ear
hear
oceans whispering limitless
sssshhh
history heaps sheering waves
shattering across reefs
sweeping shallow bays
rearing breakers
pound shelving beaches
scatter shells with razor-sharp edges
II
knowledge like coral
shelters fluid ecosystems
and fragile
when bleached and gone
none can be recouped
crocheting hyperbolic space
clarebryden.co.uk @clarebryden.bsky.social
Helen Akers
we’re trying to construct a frame for this
‘highly reactive impulsive emotion’
the nurse is looking into it
Jenny Robb
By the light of a wolf moon,
my father turns mad.
Anne whispers to a girl in the wind,
and a friend blows into my life.
Diane Webster
Squirrels dream of a cougar,
a cougar given permission
to crouch like an assassin
awaiting its prey . . .
Bill Jones
Three jackdaws walked widdershins
around the birdfeeding station.
Zumwalt
I see
how you see
us in meetings:
merchandise
to slip
off
the shelf.
Anya Reeve
Stubborn, we closed our fists
To better ward away the brume
John Grey
it’s more
of a gathering
than a town
Antony Dunn
Have you heard the one about
how I’m hoping to bow out –
playing guitar for the Cure
Alex Scarborough
I measure distance in Spotify playlists
so I can’t be trusted with maps.