Irina Frolova – Shell scrying

Irina Frolova LEP&W V4 Dec 2022

Download PDF Here 13th Anniversary
Live Encounters Poetry & Writing Volume Four December 2022.

Shell Scrying, poems by Irina Frolova. 


Shell scrying

under my feet the ground shifts
scattered
I size up my footprints
see if I fit in
the shape of this new home

I hold up a shell to my ear –
a rowdy kettle
whistles to the young night
outside the blizzard
wrestles the trees we drink tea

waves froth at my ankles –
a snow-white wolf
howls for the larch woods
paws at my chest makes me sink
to my knees

the air is salt in my throat
still
beggar gulls
catch the wind
and soar


Red flag

the way to my womanly heart
is simple I said
a tightrope
between
guilt and compliments

I watched you laugh
move expertly
plant a rose
a thorny
intoxicating colour

in the soft centre of it
I watched
you let it
bloom
let it bleed to black


© Irina Frolova

Irina Frolova is a lover of words (and has a degree in philology to prove it!). She lives on the Awabakal land in Lake Macquarie, NSW. Her work speaks to the experience of immigration, neurodiversity, and a search for belonging. It draws on folklore and explores archetypes through cultural and feminist lenses. Her poetry and prose have appeared in Not Very Quiet, Australian Poetry Collaboration, Baby Teeth Journal, Rochford Street Review, The Blue Nib, The Australian Multilingual Writing Project, Live Encounters, Mascara Literary Review, and Kalliope X. Her creative highlights include her first collection of poetry Far and Wild (released by Flying Island Books in 2021) and second place in the 2021 Deborah Cass Prize for writing. Facebook @irinafrolovapoet.

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