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Poetry

Two poems from Lumen

Tiffany Atkinson

Lumen is Tiffany Atkinson’s fourth collection of poetry and is published by Bloodaxe Books in February 2021

 

Hymn

Red dog shitting

plants his four stars in the grass

and up goes the tent of himself

his tail pegged out

his eyelids fine and private. And I think

……………..so that’s how we do all things with the body.

Here he is.

He lifts a gold wrist like a debutante.

I look at him and know the eye emits a shaft of sticky particles

……………..and these have formal consequences.

When he hunts in any case I’m lost to him.

He spins on the horizon

……………..heads/ tails.

Smooth your hand along the dog. He likes that.

If in dreams sometimes I do my red dog harm I wake in thick tears.

If my dog lies like spilt honey

I stretch across the carpet breath-to-breath and watch his yellow eye

……………..a trapdoor in and out of which some small hot thing is always bolting

flick and grow still.

May I never get over the slapstick of the red dog swimming.

When high wind is the red dog’s cinema he shakes.

Only when my dog is quite exhausted

will he push his India-rubber

heart into my palm.

……………..It jumps.

When friends say look

you know he’s not a substitute

do they think I’m an idiot. He chooses daily

……………..and I rise or don’t rise and he takes me

 

 

Dog speaks

What my russet hunt-dog says

…. curled in the cream of my bed

……….like a worm in a nut     is that     it’s me

………….. wanting discipline    What’s this

 

he groans       with one eye rolling up

…. and tail flicking lizardly        Where are your boots

……….and your teaching voice      why make me

………….. lie for you        This isn’t business     there

 

isn’t a blizzard       and nothing is wrong

…. with your forked walking-parts     I don’t know

……….why you droop so       why      you

………….. smell so like a bin-fire after rain      What’s

 

this slow extinction       Light yourself       Be lit

….  rise up      and mistress      Claim your right

………..to push yourself into the world

…………..  so I can sprint my golden loops

 

or put a collar on and walk       yourself

…..the slow length of whatever reeks of grief

……….then shit right on it

………….. and be done      Don’t take me

 

for a heart        some sempiternal human heart

….. all struck and gormless       I am short-lived

………..horny      huge of whim       your counter-

…………..  weight       Will pull hard every

 

time and not be told        Though you must try

…..like any little talking-god       as I

……….must dumbly quite like any

………….. better self      ignore you

 

 

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