Natalie Shaw

---

Ice House Love

He rather liked the ice house
No, he was already a little in love
with the ice house
No, even before they had been properly introduced
No, or even met

Ah my frozen lake
      –     all 300 tonnes! –
Ah its stately melt
Ah

[Unlike that other ice]
This Ice is clean
Six inches thick and remarkably clean
Remarkably clean

[homegrown ice is not so clean]

Import duty set arbitrarily high
The ice men came
The old ice money

[He was not concerned with that]
[The ice carts up and down the streets]
Remarkably clean

 

Natalie Shaw‘s pamphlet Dirty Martini will be published in January 2023 with Broken Sleep, and Oh be quiet is out now with Against the Grain.

---

To discover more content exclusive to our print and digital editions, subscribe here to receive a copy of The London Magazine to your door every two months, while also enjoying full access to our extensive digital archive of essays, literary journalism, fiction and poetry.