2 poems
Horse chestnut
Horse chestnut tree's patisserie of teeth
directs the yearly upclimb
hands dolled red with stolen essence
reinventing gawdy brandish frilly phallus
blossom buds grinning mouth clusters spewing
fruiting yellow fingers
bearded dripping insectoid heads
predict conkers’ heavy sex of useless timber
pushes the woods to rot
Jack-by-the-hedge
My life is an extension
of your pleated frocks
so let me address you
in hand-me-down names
Jack-by-the-hedge I have found you
in deer burrow cleft
in ground cover by white silver doilies
do not leave me
rosetta stone flower
tether language
to bird chatter
because the vortex one foot in front
of me is becoming
a centre of the world
Kerry Priest lives on the edge of Dartmoor. She was one of Eyewear's Best New British and Irish Poets 2018. Her work has appeared in Acumen, Emma Press, Poetry Salzburg and Shearsman and her sound poetry has been played on BBC Radio 3.