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14th Anniversary Edition, Live Encounters Poetry & Writing Volume Six Nov-Dec 2023.
A study in surrender, poems by Bobbie Sapprow.
A study of surrender
A milkweed butterfly whispers
through my dream, orange wings
tissue-thin courting the wind,
her life fading in the rhythmic dips
she makes, barely grazes the stone wall
that curves down to the grey sea.
I see a crease in her silk,
the sketch of death, I long
(for longing is my twin)
to pair my delicate heart
with such gracious strength.
Allow the day to carry me
through all its grim and glory,
feel the fading of my feathers
as merely the passing of time.
Tamed
There is a moment when the falcon
cannot hear the falconer.
Her wings become the spread of longing,
the sky the height of possibility.
Three thousand feet from the flat earth,
her foster home is a narrowed green grey,
colours of hoods and gauntlets.
She uses the wind like a lover,
meets the potency with furious heart.
Unravels, remembers herself,
yet, tamed to turn away from the wild,
a raised arm is all it takes
for her speed to increase in descent.
Chronic
It’s nights like this I want to die, not/ because of the pain but/ because of its absence/
is the colour of the flames/ the day had so much kindness I couldn’t fathom it/ I thought they
are right / they are right, about the universe and manifesting/ and I forget about the days I
thought it was a pile of rubbish because/ now after doing nothing except/ defrosting the freezer
and grating cheese on my dinner/ everything seems luminous/ I’m riding high on a moment/
but I know it won’t last and I can’t hold on/ the rope slips in my sweaty grip/ I must let go/
accept that tomorrow/ the pain may wag its finger at me/ grin like the joker from Batman/ I
will curse St. Juliana/ rummage in the bin of faith/ scan the trees for feathers of hope/ my
stomach will sink and I will/ recall the hot French guy I watched on TV last night/ how he</
made me feel 23 when my body was just for pleasure/ as it is I still only feel 36 and I’m not that
old anyway/ but if I die now I’d rise glorious into the heavens/ feeling vaguely sexy and loved
for my wit and creativity/ not my stoicism for hanging on long past my desire
© Bobbie Sparrow
Bobbie Sparrow lives in Co. Galway, she has been published in many journals and anthologies including Abridged, Southword, Skylight 47, Crannog and The Honest Ulsterman. She has been placed in various well-known competitions and was voted best published poet 2018/19 by Dodging the rain. Bobbie has been featured reader at many events. Her debut collection is due for publication Spring 2024.with Yaffle Press. Bobbie loves swimming in cold lakes and staring at trees in winter.
Mmm, these are gorgeous!