Equal

We sit in our jar

Infected

Irritable

All out of sorts

Jumping beans 

Bounced to desiccation

Potatoes baked beyond 

The stretch of their skin

Strained

Drawn 

Roasted

They put the past behind

And the future in front 

Where are we

At the equinox silly 

Not quite here

Not quite there

Not quite anywhere

We sit in our jar

On caramel days 

There are flowers and bees

A hum and a buzz

A little heart

Falling

A penny and potion

Swallowed down whole

On treacle days

The lid sets like glue

Stuck to our nose

And to our clothes

On treacle days

There is no air to breathe

No sky to dream 

All things being equal

It could always be worse 

She says

Licking caramel off her fingers

I write out sums

Our favourite pencil is warm

The lines soft

Like co-ordinates

Patching us together

Here we are

Here we are

In our little jar

She shakes 

Sparkles and glows

Darkens and falls

We look to the window

There is sun inside a yellow head

She whispers to me

Winter is dead.

Offer

I hold the little hummingbird 

In my hand

Offering up a part of who I am

She keeps me safe 

When no one else can

Try as I might

I smite myself down

She considers the concept slowly

Travelling the outer reaches of our land

Blue expanses

Steely dams

Whales in oceans

Baskets of spiders

Dolphins in pans

All part of who I am

The chocolate turns to sludge 

Writhing and melting

You know the whole business

Is quite deplorable

She springs up

Murderous and whimsical

My badass little champion

We toss words

Like pancakes

Sizzling in hot butter

Whisper sing 

A hopeless spell

Dust to gold

Colour to chaos

Apple to core

I cannot change who I am

Trouble is your guise is burnt 

Deep in the heart of you

Thick as treacle

Indigo dye

We could take a match 

Light the straw

Set a fire

You would still be you 

There is a cold place

In the centre of our land

Where flowers fade

And all seems lost

To leave we must understand 

me you us

I hold the little hummingbird 

In my hand

Offering up a part of who I am.

Fanciful

Are we fanciful 

She asks

Nibbling the chocolate 

Flake by flake

Cleaning her finger nails 

Measure by measure

We are sat in blue

I prefer the sky 

She says gravely 

It seems we are always locked in

Boxes 

Houses

Thoughts which spin

Cupcakes 

On a carnival wheel

I would like to see the world from above

We are always looking down 

The chocolate melts

Like skin

Over heating

Slowly falling off

She shakes the globe

Firm and sure

A wish for snow 

And all things nice

Catching spiders 

Like candy bars

One a penny 

Two a penny

All fall down

It's more likely to be chaos

Than rain

Which pours

Still

We are here 

She whispers

Are we fanciful 

She asks

Always little cricket

She smiles.

Table

I walk with 

My blue table

Through puzzles 

Puddles and leaves

There are many adventures 

We will meet

On the surface

In the folds

Breaking up the alphabet

Like the yellow brick road

Listening to the 

Tilt gossip flow

We are missing

In the hollows 

Talking 

Love

The authenticity of pain

Like chocolate or cheese

Falling on our tongue

An improper wealth 

Of scars

A doubtful ending 

She leans into me

We are hiding 

In between the cupboard and fridge

The space where 

The neighbours cannot find us

We rub our eyes

A jagged edge of light

Pours through the

Hush and cries

I have never really lived anywhere

Always moving

Never still

Never pinning down

The wild blue electricity 

Wiring everything inside

In the flower bed

Up the walls

Gently drifting in the hills

I mean you’re not real are you

I walk with 

My blue table

Through puzzles 

Puddles and leaves

There are many adventures 

We will meet

On the surface

In the folds.

Bloom

This is the story of Nora Snow

She left on this day

A long time ago

Let's get out the normality markers

She squeals

We don't have any

Of course we do

Silly

They are pink and blue 

We dream of 

Puzzle books

Liquorice wheels

And apple pie lawns 

It’s enough to make a girl dizzy 

Our toes skim dank puddles

Blips and mishaps

Trips and falls

Lambs fall from the walls

Like greedy petals

Full and Gorged

A habit enabled

A history stored

Tell me her story

She says

Nestling in my arms

Nora Snow wore a key around her neck

It was silver and red

Like sunrise

The chain was a grey bootlace

Which never aged

Though Nora Snow grew very old

She claps her hands

This puzzle’s a cinch

So tell me where did Nora Snow go

She had the key to heaven

Much better 

The key

Is the flower of Nora Snow

And all who see it bloom and grow.

Fold

I keep the tissue paper

Folded on the bed

I imagine it 

Wrapped around 

The shape of you

The thought rests heavy 

Stuck like a brick

In the back of my head

I do not want you to leave

She drinks her milk

In big dirty gulps

Feet tucked under 

A smile shining on her lips

A sparkle in her eyes 

I love the moments

When she is free 

Nourished

Ignorant

Light

Threats postponed

Reality veiled 

All machinations and 

Mutable possibilites

Quieted tamed and lost

I wait for her to finish

It’s precisely nine o’clock

Long past time to play

Shall we take a drive in the car

Or catch cuttlefish out at sea

The can rests on my tummy

Slowly warming

To another day

We follow a daisy chain

Of weather fronts 

Weave themes in a secret diary

From pumpkins to frosts

Stars flake

In our finger tips

Stuck in a tapestry 

Some of which is rich

Others not

She lifts the paper tenderly

Starts folding it into

Butterflies birds and bees

All machinations and 

Mutable possibilites

Quieted tamed and lost

I close my eyes

A blue cloud smile

And set the tablecloth for tea.