After Kit Right
by Sinéad Coxhill
I will put in the box…
footfalls of angels
tinkling laughter of children
soft strumming of a harp
I will put in the box…
joyful sound of a yodel
leap of a small ballet dancer
fog that rolls across a river
I will put in the box…
an ice maiden dancing in the sun
frown of an old curmudgeon
mermaid wearing a red jumper
I will put in the box…
icy splash of sea on my skin
salmon swimming in honey
mackerel dancing a jig
my box is made from scales shed by snakes
shimmering pink, green and gold
it’s handles are jewelled ancient crab claws
I shall carry my box with care
aboard a sailing ship with a bright green sail
we shall navigate the briny ocean
gliding into a sunset
Sinead Coxhill lives in Northern Ireland in a beautiful north coast town, Portrush. Her poetry is often inspired by the sea and coastal landscape. In 2019 she performed at the Red Sails and Stendhal Festivals in Northern Ireland, and in the same year toured England performing at various open mic events and at Waterstones in Birmingham. Poems have been published in 4 anthologies : Spindrift, Portrush Writers (2018), the CAP anthology Heartland (2020), Reeling In, Portrush Writers (2021), Irish Hares and Seahorses, a North Coast Writers’ anthology (2022) as well as a poem in Across the Threshold, a pamphlet and companion publication to CAP’s Threshold anthology (2022).
