Charlie Baylis
chalcot square
words appear
on the walls
great lakes strung from her fingers
builders vomiting multicoloured glitter over gravel
the grass bends back
lacing the ditches with dull green
from where we admire
ponds full of nothing
twins walk past the gates
desperate for contact with the dead
shadows hover over the sun
expanding patches of silver
leave a scent on the lawn
the swing-set swinging still
tigers in the lemon grass
dolly mix ice-cream
red roses blushing into onrushing day
she pulls the plug from the whirlpool flips vertical
the moon holds her
in the palm of his hand
the north winds moan impotent gods
flickering
wet with sap
water lilies despotic moths unkind destiny
the sky is only blue because we’re locked in
_
Charlie Baylis is the Editor of Anthropocene. His poetry has been nominated twice for the Pushcart Prize and once for the Forward Prize. His most recent publication is Swimming (Red Ceiling Press). Charlie is the Poetry Editor of Review 31 and the Assistant Editor of Broken Sleep Books.
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