One a Day / 05.09.26 - 07.09.26

Forest Management S. Reeson - presale, signed

‘A fascinating pamphlet’ - Wendy Pratt; ‘unflinching, inventive poems of discovery, trauma and healing’ - Jen Feroze; ‘...candid, skilful and often unsettling poems; a forest trail that leads us through fear and reflection to a place of revelation.’ - Nina Parmenter

The Flight of the Dragonfly Bookshop

It's time to change the direction of this space for a while, starting with a daily poem. The warmup has served me well over the last few years, and with some major changes on the way here in October, it is time to practice what I keep preaching. This gives space for new ideas to flourish and old wood to be quietly cut away. We'll be doing this therefore until the 30th, by which time everything happening in the background will be ready for you. Thanks for reading.

Today also gets an extra second paragraph. The weekend ended up being extraordinarily busy. Three warms-up happened, I did not get to transcribe them at the time, so in date order, here they are. Saturday's happened at the Clifftown Museum, Sunday's was after the hardest I've worked in a cycling class for MONTHS, and today's is the response to the #PromptCombo prompt on Bluesky.

Reading Box

branches are growing unexpectedly inside / the
mosaic is their ground / covered in paper / leaves the
phone box / has become the greenhouse / as the
library is full / of literary allusions / that the
pages illuminate / have both ideas and solutions / in a
festival of each / separate minds' decorations / that the
narrative is a continuation of their pages / their creative
collaboration / that a rocket flies to a planet / the
boat tacks towards the Estuary / a naked woman desires
things are set on fire / a seagull wheels above / a cat
smiles / all of this is literary reflection / their subtext
is a potent combination / is a reason to / open the box

Lock In

i know it hurts it's okay you're safe / inside the pain cave that no-one else gets to see or hear / and THIS is what they talk about / when athletes know that the only way to win / to finish / to move forward / is the inescapable turning of the key / a door which must not open until / the work is done now / not stopping even though every joint is aching / the statements will become the witness / to this extra km you're cycling / the numbers will not reflect the experience / i am broken and it's fine / because this time / everything is stronger because / this is forward motion

In Team

there is no realism in my personification / there is no redemption in this story arc there are no lies in the paper trail either / there might be some dishonesty in that previous statement but there / you see / I tried my best to fit in / not be
the I in Team / that’s always been / there is a hole / where the narrative should
fit seamlessly / as I accept listening to them / all laughing / there is nothing we have in common / and it is easier then / to become the tree / the silent matriarch / simply / watching when you have spent a lifetime afraid / there is always safety

in not being seen

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