A Basket of Nettles and Larks
Life lines still arc round the base of each thumb
though the bulk of hand’s muscle mass
lies in the thenar bellies, now flat as linoleum
and tendons smart branches when I brace fingers,
interrupting hillocks of skin.
The heart line runs under my wedding ring,
fused to the engagement ring (one college afternoon).
If I massage the mudflats in this wicked pack of cards,
flies swarm its spiderwebs. But valiantly my head line tramps
through my palm’s basket of nettles and larks.
Sally Festing’s new poetry collection, Meeting Places (Mica Press), will be launched in May 2025 at Norwich’s Maddermarket Bar. The poems wrap up love, blood ties, art, and aging in a spikey bundle. She’s a seasoned North Norfolk author (https://www.sallyfesting.info