by Andy N
Catching her tears in the breeze
From one row of headstones to the next
Some days you would see her ghost
Walking up and down
Like a private on patrol.
Entwined with the sun
Just before sunrise
Creeps over the hill
Cascading into a silent film
As the shadows sank away
Repeating his name over
Like a broken tape machine
Caught up in a tangle
Of half-forgotten prayers
In at least two different languages
Echoing in the wind
Butterfly shaped with regrets
In a tidal mystery of anger
If things had been
So very different
Over skeletons of feelings
Before they turned
Into scraps of meanings
After the burnt-out end of summer
Into a willow shaped autumn
Following him
To the grave
Within weeks
Filled with nothing
But regret.
Andy N is the author of four full poetry collections, the most recent being the streets were all we could see and with his partner Amanda Steel, the joint collection the lockdown was all we could see. He is the co-host of Stretford’s always welcoming open mic literature night Speak Easy and is the host/creator/co-host of the following Podcasts: Spoken Label, Reading in Bed, Comics Unity and Wrestle Up among others. He also does ambient music under the name of Ocean in a Bottle. His official blog is onewriterandhispc.blogspot.com.
