Natalie Shaw – Oh Be Quiet

Another peek at another pamphlet currently at our printer….

 

Printer’s Tray

The first tray
I did not know this tray

The second tray
They came from Africa, two babies with them,
a mahogany crocodile, a kist for blankets;
two pairs of shoes dipped in copper.

They kept a set of tiny elephants,
smaller than their babies’ toenails.
There was a plastic crib, bigger,

plastic charms from Christmas crackers,
telephone directories the size of stamps:
these were the things the children looked at.

The third tray
The children got bigger. They lost the elephants
in the carpet, built Weetabix houses for ants,
they sat on the crocodile that lived in the kitchen.

Small as a borrower, the daughter climbed
into the tray on the wall. She ate
stale Parma Violets as big as her head

and danced with electric-haired trolls. Her daddy
laughed at her tiny Silk Cut, her ma
pulled her down by her hair and shook her

until she got so good at hiding
(in amongst charms, between the directories)
she knew she could stay for as long as she liked.

Benjamin Cusden – Cut the Black Rabbit

We’re pleased to say that Ben’s book is now with our printer – here’s a sneak peek at the book due to be launched at the end of September. More on that later….

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Doorways Are For Daytime Sleeping

As the natural light segues into night amber;
when nocturnal beat and chatter

replaces daytime-drone, it’s time to sink deeper
into shadows – smooth as water to find a way

to seep through unseen cracks, become less
than silhouette and feed your form to darkness.

Navigate away from well-worn tracks, nimbly mask
your scent – camouflage your being with evening air.

As night falls, sympathy’s a starving bird, empathy
an unknown world. Fear is a hyena’s hunting pack.