Two Poems – Clair Tierney

Here Now Nowhere

A winter forest
waiting for a blade
soft talon of spring
pushing up from
sealed ground.

Children climb trees
making each bend
a new room in the arms.
They pull carpets of moss
off the old and big stones
and lay over branches,
fashioning a nest.

Outdoors takes on a potency,
the here, now, nowhere
day-white technicolour
technisound,
their sound of playing
pulling me out
from sealed ground.

Lockdown and the Divide

The Tesco delivery man
The Morrisons delivery man
The Amazon man
The Matalan man
The DHL man

In bright white sunshine,
in vans, in cars,
in forestry pick-up trucks, constructing
on road works sites
on the coast lines.

M and S Simply Food petrol station
lines of men alongside
tankers
vans and cars,
in the shop
buying coffee, talking loudly,
Laughing.

Dads arrive
wind-burned, jaunty,
reeking of fresh air.
Leave again
into the outdoors.
Straighten up.

Leave behind
front doors,
windows, walls,
shadows
loading
loading
loading
loading

---

Clair Tierney is a poet, musician and teacher. Her writing, about motherhood, female literary and historical figures, and the natural environment, features in Southlight, Northwords Now and Makarelle magazines. She has a successful John Byrne Award Entry on the power of forest bathing. Twitter: @tierney_clair

Banner: “It’s been so long.” Digital art by Robert Frede Kenter Twitter: @frede_kenter