Kodak Gold

(35mm, 200 ISO)

Ben Moore, United Kingdom

I caught the world curled up in a can —

life corked,

and now uncorked again:

leaves glowing gold-lit

and aflame

on black-barked branches;

water muscling along

mid-flow — tight,

jewel-like

and sparkled by sun;

cherry spun round

and round — now falling,

falling — yet calming

Earth’s clockwork

ticking and clicking

to a still —

to still

the petal-filled

flight, static

in the sun-backed sky.

Yet, I could never capture

the snap and crack of the birds’ wings

slicing swift and clean through

the sweet swell of sugary spring;

the heavy heat hung

low, low

and lazy; like the longing blow

of the breeze,

the soft wash of the wind;

the words of the dead.

Ben Moore is a poet from Northern Ireland, whose writing is greatly influenced by his own intimate experiences of grief, and his deep love and appreciation for nature. He has been previously published in Scribbled.