Katie

Can you blame me, from your runaway horse, the way you screamed, look at me, I whisper, you've run this way before, I give the reins a twist, what do you bet my Queen, no sorrow or remorse, you know I'll break free, you are not my sister, I’m not your whore, of a thousand wishes, I spend time in dreams, sometimes inside doors, hustle in car lane streams, like a hard worn duster, lifted from the floor, did you seriously think, I would take any more ?

Joanna

Eyes beat like fireflies, you are no one's fool, they dance like satyrs, jingle on the snowline, this cold winter noon, the mountain’s like wine, sunlight bathes our ties, we’re 28 and cool, it gets us by, on track iron or trainside, down the country’s blues, leaves no time for crying, our family's plight, a suffering misfortune, doesn’t give us sleepless nights, we’re poor and just carryon, no need to be cruel, we’ll party like its Oberon, play all of the tunes.

Imogen

My time goes by unspoken, afraid of family especially Pa, our business closed and broken, which hand do you hold, inside the stable’s dappled bar, sun light leaves me sore, my days scatter unfold, no one sees my scar, or hears that silent roar, memory can’t control, chime of beat or waterfall, an awakened lost Mariposa, I steal away a ghost, elbow grease work foreign bars, deal with other blows, see the crime as a token, why say tu voir, not so easy to let go, we never travel far.

Gloria

I walk without fear, down lilac evening, mother's words hush dear, wondering what they know, or who I’ve seen, never bring to this door, do you remember the tears, Dada used to tease, gazed at all our fears, he’s in California now, lived long on our street, house bought, cars on show, tried to film and act sincere, Sunday suit, collars at ease, a mistake when he leered, large hands, stilled the blow, I loved but was uneasy, told him where to go, whispered like a thief.

Francesca

Like a swollen flower, your sleeve rolled charms, disguise true matters, you glide and cruise, and bring to the farm, a rocking tractor tune, cows as big as towers, don’t possess any harm, you hang out feed bowers, won’t frighten or fume, bellow with alarm, at the smell of glue, lovers are like showers, they make you feel warm, are gone within the hour, you dance light or blue, turn the motor on, hear the agricultural news belt out your song

Eileen

Will she ditch me now, make me drink more drink, sit and wonder how, my eyes are wheaten brown, I dance along the brink, this long winter long, the heat off her brow, gathers and prinks, who she might follow, like a seeding furrow, she can blink, or scatter sorrow, constrained in what I know, what she’s thinking, her forehead’s an arrow, I won't need a show, still less a shrink, to lean forward and crow, you’ve lost me Minx.

Dana

She says a dawn novena, and worries about her feet, concerned who will see her, love's a trick to trap, not knowing what to keep, equipped for other crap, every tune’s a new scene, bars fuel her sole conceit, blonde singers, wooden dreams, rise to greet and grasp, but when morning turns green, she prays alone unfathered, wondering if there’s a beat, more than any depth of need, to always bet on evens , perhaps with a common tap, poised or in retreat, something good will last, dancing rescues everything.

Christina

Give me dancing jewels, and let me smile through tears, I will waltz with fools, under cold white stars, golden gowns allay my fears, can't believe this farce, my dreams of other moons, citizens brought near, strip them down for news, I smile and start, remember ached for years, when nothing there was false, turn my head, shrug a look, don't want to hear, how I’ve been cruel, long gait and fuller parts, this perfume costs me dear, I’ll bear this old tiara, diamond sparkling clear.

Christine

Give me dancing jewels, and let me smile through tears, I will waltz with fools, under cold white stars, golden gowns allay my fears, can't believe this farce, my dreams of other moons, citizens brought near, strip them down for news, I smile and start, remember ached for years, when nothing there was false, turn my head, shrug a look, don't want to hear, how I’ve been cruel, long gait and fuller parts, this perfume costs me dear, I’ll bear this old tiara, diamond sparkling clear.

Beula

When did I start crying, was it going back to Ireland, or when my son asked why, Nana loved the horses, you who poured sand, over that turfed cours, on the ferry, kids playing, silver light across the strand, I lay at anchor becalmed, you the daddy retort, we’ve run aground, are we together any more, to say Ma was a slave, a house always crammed, a martyr to his venerable grace, all those holy orders, he asks if there’s a plan, in dust and troubled bother, but doesn’t give a damn.

Abi

What I should never do, stuff I swore, gallop down fields of blue, dance again to the moon, pray to broken laws, wave a witches broom, my partner swoons, asks what I’m saying this for, only fools live out of tune, runaway doomed, take holy orders, drain winter into June, rage at every heirloom, define a life by whores, she’ll leave me here to stew, a fool to give me room, say I’ll pay a heavy score, my almond eyes brand new, love is raw.

Zara

Can you love me, do you think you dare, the way I used to be, look at me, I breathe, is it my grey hair, that makes you dream, Paris on glossy evenings, would you care, Pastis and nights spent free, with someone's being, clink yellow glasses with her, still fresh at fifty three, blowing like steam, your eyes flared, would you let out a scream, all those might have beens, is that fair, for a life of ease you my blonde flaneur?

Yemi

The turn of stupid days, scour my great unease, a river quietly embraced, the streets and diners, bring a sense of need, solace if you find her, it’s not a real home anyway, down these yellow streets, think where else to gaze, debt is timeless, beneath cool leaves, blue drinks drunk by minors, Our Lady holds her sway, in these cold light seasons, love always stays, the law tends to blindness, the water still seeps, waves of the crimeless, my sister's broken cities

Yemi

The turn of stupid days, scour my great unease, a river quietly embraced, the streets and diners, bring a sense of need, solace if you find her, it’s not a real home anyway, down these yellow streets, think where else to gaze, debt is timeless, beneath cool leaves, blue drinks drunk by minors, Our Lady holds her sway, in these cold light seasons, love always stays, the law tends to blindness, the water still needs, waves of the crimeless, my sister broken cities.

Xavier

In a spartan cafe', redeemed by our needs, don’t make me trade, a blonde bright lit home, for an invisible enemy, where shadows climb walls, in the falling rain, we reel at the infirmary, an echo of empty cradles, a doctor's sad tone, more than we can ever be, love worn and gone, on hospital alleyways, the absence of a heartbeat, like a dismal train, pray at St Peter’s dome, loss brings no certainty, just whistles forlorn, over the sea.

Wilhelmina

You whisper love, on throwaway 'phones, your ravaged face a moon, luminous as a sign, above the credit stores, you search for reasons why, an arc of pearling doves, a lifetime learning to moan, fly to those who give, in these dark cold nights, fresh linen and Cologne, makes you feel all right, you wear a hooded look, like saints conceals their bones, always swear by the book, what light shines above, or in dust remains prone, life is ever tough, your star is not alone.

Veronica

Who wants to be free, asks my lover, she lifts her head easy, her bright horizon, is not given to everyone, her toenails painted crimson, nothing between us and the sea, the breeze kind on the peninsula, don't you want to succeed, an answer is called upon, a short step to Zion, a symphony ruined and gone, the riot of her lipstick creases, she thinks she's a funny one, the wine caresses me, if I don’t want oblivion, to refuse her refugee salon, why state marriage is a con, if I’m just a demi john ?

Veronica

Who wants to be free, asks my lover, she lifts her head easy, her bright horizon, is not given to everyone, her toenails painted crimson nothing between us and the sea, the breeze kind on the peninsula, don't you want to succeed, an answer is called upon, a short step to Zion, a symphony ruined and gone, the riot of her lipstick creases, she thinks she's a funny one, the wine caresses me, if I don’t want oblivion, to refuse her refugee salon, why state marriage is a con if I’m just a demi john ?

Sam

Absolved of troubles, we unwrap in time, she passes beyond my look, uncertainty arrested, how we’re still alive, my tears flow encrusted, delivery, testimony, rubble, between us down the line, love hangs in leaden bubbles, believe me a life is tested, amendments to that script line, broken ties need cool refreshment, they tell me 'don’t shudder,' at rattle of gates or bell chime, you’ll find another rudder, nothing disturbs the blessed, nor accepts our decline, our spirits pulled but rested,, we learn again to fly.

Ursula

She follows a trail well known, the wind blows its cover, wrapped around like a gown, pulled from dull marriage, she is crazy for others, her face a rite of passage, seduced by clubs and shown, she laughs with sequined lovers, sunshine dances down, she was / you are/ I am born, a kid of yellow troubles, but never uses scorn, on ship or ocean town, no candle can smother, the miracle of soft rebounds, she isn’t savage, and hardly makes you suffer, love might be slow in passing, but it’s a fine blue morning.

Tasha

You used to write to me then, of furs and feathers and winters, an innocent frightened pen, bloodied in a tenement, you wrote of soothing kisses, in Harlem or the Bronx, Fulton Street summers, dollars, beds, your fancy business, within seething Brooklyn, you work the five and ten, leave me here in splinters, you’re not coming home again, to that terrible wonder, of poor and lonely resisters, laying down their lovers, now you help the weathered, you my rootless sister, donning boots and leathers, snarling like a Bittern..

Rain

The place is deadly blue, her smile unknown, what the ancestors refused, hamstrung by swaying steps, she doesn’t hurt saying no, that dancing smile at rest, is looking for some news, takes your tales and shows, what you said you once knew, a passage to the blessed, young and free to bestow, light to the middle distance, catching a midnight choo choo, the engine steaming, she fills her boots, movement makes her selfless, she’ll warm her toes, in places without residence, where spirits gently flow

Quaker

She hears a strange whisper, the sound of a removal van, asks is it THE sisters !!!, each move the last trip, no one faults her tan, every move tunes her lips, she wears cool linen, the bars are full of men ocean town’s made up of them, they rise like ghost ships, she walks home in step, when sea green evening dips, but barefoot prays within, her dancing done, she'd rather have a someone, rather than the whistle, of another lonely camp, doesn’t care where she’s driven, who gives a damn ?

Priscilla

You'd gamble everything after, your friends say, including the Easter calendar, I wonder kissing your lips, watching cormorants in the bay, roll in tide like ships, ever think of me ha ha, salt and cologne not far away, preening my wings at the bar, do you miss those trips, smoking or kneeling to pray, going out as you came in, burning at lovers’ remarks, what an image they make, but soon drift away la la, you’ll give that page a skip, a search for time delayed, words are always thin, the beauty of your face.

Onisha

Smoking a cigarette, a lover's old face appears, fulsome not lonely yet, geese rise and sail, haunt the sky like deer, I knew her once in jail, blankets around us yet, she always cheered, wide as a fishing net, colours of the early rails, she’d let no-one near, someone who never failed, she absorbed uncertain dread, whatever brought us here, made it safe to tread, a woman who contained, flames passage into fear, shared jokes on trains, then disappeared.

Nika

The wind blows cool breath, across our defences, no one cares about caress, it fades in lighted cellars, what cast as we send, flowers to the mad jealous, bad ass drunks who jar us, encourage shy friends, like miners to a gold rush, across our coffin lands, nothing is sensitive, to their brutal stance, will anyone want us, dressed to offend, their moral advances, to carry by naked thread, our indebtedness. to the inventive West, who will assess us.

Monica

Please don't make a fuss, I carry yellow lists, order is my must, it’s useless to purge, or rail against my fits, you can’t fight a dramaturge, the effect of yellow musk, are you prepared for this, you want the peace of dusk, simply do what I urge, or go and find a ship, a painted freight or dredger, you are on my cusp, knowledge never comes in bits, only ask the dust, if you feel the urge, ride the middle distance, don’t flail me stupid, or try to go for bust, in this house of whispers, I’m not a one to trust, If you seek my lips.

Leanne

In days of winter fire, night rides black and cold, stars come out like ice, a love of dreaming, even at home, beams across eternity, no matter what the desire, someone’s here to hold, who never lies, but love is not for scheming, on smart ‘phones, they don’t give us memory, won’t replace the tides, tell us we're not alone, no matter who conspires, in these yellow evenings, I’m already toned, a name for every bearing, written on a stone.

Leanne

In days of winter fire, night rides black and cold, stars come out like ice, the love of dreaming, even at home, beams across eternity, no matter what the desire, someone’s here to hold, who never lies, but love is not for scheming, om smart ‘phones, they don’t give us memory, won’t replace the tides, tell us we're not alone, no matter who conspires, in these yellow evenings, I’m already toned a name for every gleaning, written on a stone.

Kathy

Who do you want to suffer more, me or your blessed lover, outside the Cafe' Du Bourse, it’s a perfect sunny evening, kids looked after by my mother, love’s not done by weeping, all your little more’s, a life between the covers, needs an open door, if you think you’re cheating, or wiser than the others, you’d better start keeping, watch on blue dance floors, cocktail dresses smother, the time just before, moonlight keeps me drinking, the softest smells of summer, you are somewhere sleeping, who will close the shutters?

Janine

Here's something for you, whoever thinks who’s first, all your things to do, you’re not long enough born, to rage against thirst, when emotion’s get torn, the sea is still blue, it’s a time for mirth, they haven’t got a clue, by clouds or by storm, your path is well versed, to know where you're going, try this point of view, don’t drive away terse, or bow to their moods, give this a roadshow, balloons only burst, make yourself glow, jump in the air.

Irene

The stars shine and play, my lover slowly fades, love’s gone down again, doesn't bother/upset my happy tone, no walls are limpid/liquid grey, my head sings alone , hands don’t have a shake, it’s difficult on the phone, when another’s voice breaks, the kids have grasped the bone, unconcerned within their ways, furious now he’s gone, the moon is on the make, the seasons roll into shade, but I’m happy to remain, they play their school trombones, ask was he always a flake, they wonder if I’ll cope, I say just great.

Gina

Want six children and dogs, just stay where you are, by a warm blazing log, but help me realise, what's going on, if it’s someone else's dream, because when I stop, by the river Alt, I’ll pee in your font, what does she believe, pictures bear a lonely scar, for all her needs, dancing’s all I’ve got, everywhere gone flat, under your iron foot, roses scatter their seed, give me what she can’t, but no more freezes, beneath a fallen star.

Gabby

On methadone you never say, ordinary’s too much like lazy, there is always a train, a thought gone past eight, that brings blissful eternity, making you find ways to pay, stations or runways, don't affect me really, only a silken burning rage, barbiturates are not the same, when you look out and see, faces on the subway, . doctors nod you need to stay, work the weaning steadily, don't jerk around like freight, who cares about family scrapes, I never meet their needs, who has the right to state they’re better off without me ?

Helena

My own test at breakfast, is only a lover's trauma, I don't feel blessed, complaining as we speak, with a raging Corona, all my troubles peak, I howl like the wind, my body amorous, emits dancing songs, that sing on the sea, a real performance, it pictures how I feel, a jukebox in the kitchen, everything roars, nothing's more simple, have never had a rest, but summon the holy ghost, tomorrow will be best, put butter on my toast.

Ferdy

She knows what's been around, an unbroken sky, shows up on naked mounds, a torment of broken sleep, when others fly, she makes her great leap, a kid from our town, she promises to try, to break all the bounds, although born and weaned, and raised by cattle signs, she misses yellow fields, now she dances on the shows, city lights are pure delight, away from country sounds, but her lonesome dream, still demands a reason why, little ones and fireside scenes, still make her cry.

Elouise

Paintings are my scene, museums have a lonely grace, I often hear them scream, they stare from tenuous canvas, it really is my fame, the world's my caravan, from summer to late season, in gas fired winter palaces, I often smell the sea, heaven if you look aghast, at my perfumed embrace, you are like M Duchamp, the rain outside teams, petals trace names on graves, pavements run like streams, unshaven waiters pass, cognac to my place, no café’ and croissants repast, for this well-oiled face.