Before The Waning Spiral Stairs
my mouth whirled with steel-tinged rum • ale glazed the table-top •
slumped into acres of moss-damp hash • I saw the bleakly sequined
dawn • licked the tree bark’s feline sap • resin drifted from a bow •
pushed you in the velveteen ditch • idly laced up in leather and weave
• sang ‘Holy, Holy, Holy’ • tended to wane mildewed pines • heard
cicadas burr as we sank to sleep • smoked my hair in a lime-washed
cellar • scratched lichen bruises from the bricks • bathed your heels
in the pewtering sink • kissed the remains, slaked the sulk
This poem was commissioned as part of the Penning Perfumes project. I was given a mystery fragrance to inspire a poem. When I submitted the completed poem the scent’s identity was revealed: Lalique’s Encre Noire. This poem is published, along with others, in a wonderful anthology of poems edited by Claire Trevien and is available to buy here.
-
herecosyouare likes this
-
versekraken reblogged this from insteadofstars
-
versekraken likes this
-
penningperfumes likes this
-
penningperfumes reblogged this from insteadofstars
-
insteadofstars posted this
