Exchange

…..Some days, I wake up wearing the earrings you bought me,
    ……………one heftier than the other

………………and when it gets too heavy to wear

……….and the left side of my head starts to droop,   I call you.

You tell me the light is failing

…………though it has been revising for months

………………………….. and the dappled clouds have been busy

………….sewing themselves inside your curtains.

I hope for the days you see in colour:

when you see the willows bent over,

………………………………………………you think them mourning, not praying

…………………..think back to before

……………wedding flowers the plush of pomegranates

……………the simple red stone of a church

……………how navy looks like black when it is wet.

Golden Gate (Reprise)

 
It is 2am little bird and the cars are passing by like afternoons
a sleepy one every now and then    and the frost has deepened

like a voice                          across town you are perched
in your uncle’s coat    hug-warm       a bridge rotting beneath
your eyes                     already sunk in the cool river

if I could reach from my window I would pluck you out
and brush the dark from your knees           I need to know
sweet bird        did you leave a note?     and does it tell me
what you see in the water
and what the water sees in you

rebeccaedenbird@gmail.com

Rebecca Bird was born in 1991. She has been published in journals including The New Writer, Envoi, The Rialto and the Bakery. She currently lives and works in Guildford.