Issue 9: Kate Behrens (for Peter Robinson)

Cloudscape, Whiteknights

Here, where castles were built, dismantled then re-built

or in such discomforting light, a real no-where of look-a-likes

repeats in land, lakeside or showering reflections;

in ‘Humss’ 1-1-3, turned against winter sun

with much acuity, the empty circle of chairs

points-up my own position – you never did inflict a thing

but almost inaudibly, brilliant drops kick in,

make a person want to weep – you are not armoured,

it’s only through layers in weather they come…

Time is running out, as it can do between us

for reasons opaque and clear, as each moment is weighed,

(or like the different eyes you were born with); quick, now,

your desk-edge foot is balanced, extends to an arm’s reach

and though I stand apart, it seems we meet

again in one conclusion’s wreck, in things beneath

some pages thrown aside; the rest in wordless places

exists on the edge of others’ lives, precarious enough,

but vital to ourselves (we’ve chosen!) – in all of these,

where we’re tough enough to last.

Kate Behrens was born in 1959, one of identical twins to two artists. She was a runner-up in the 2010 Mslexia competition and her first collection of poems, The Beholder, was published in 2012 by Two Rivers Press. She lived extensively in Europe before settling in Oxfordshire. Kate has one daughter. She reads regularly at poetry events in her area.

Home  |  Issue 9