The Man at the End of the Pew

I’m a crow when it comes to singing, though we have some excellent
canaries in our family (real singers, in choir and out, and they know
who they are, their voices a joy to hear), but the crows of the world
are important too …

A

TO THE MAN AT THE END OF THE PEW

your voice soars out                                            
like a carefree angel
a semi-tone flat
a beat behind the music
and I love it
because you cover my monotone
with a fine disregard
for choir and congregation

I like your flamboyant tie
restrained shirt and jacket
your face absorbed in song
enjoying every out-of-tune note
as much as I do

A

A

New! NEW! ‘A Bedroom of Searchlights’: poetry. This collection draws a picture of the poet’s divorced mother, an artist with two children, who struggled with poverty, war, and the realities of daily life, yet still found beauty and comfort in her garden, and her art.
From Inanna Publications, May 2016.