Tammy

When did I say you must, was it going back to sing, or the words of my son, who loved the house of soul, among other things, he never sang alone, in the city always first, clothes that needed ironing, anchored to his sins, but he never crawled, towards any living being, making songs was his goal, his Daddy blows a kiss, but he never did anything, a pie without the crust, says he knows the score, doesn’t even think, in a back alley scrawled, my boy is dying.

Star

Sometimes you can’t exclude, what cascades deep inside, then a face hove’s into view, laughter in her blue eyes, when she asks me why, moon’s rise on the tide, a lover, grounded and true, she holds out all the time, but draws a line at virtue, once she paced her pride, found places safe to cry, explored huge caves at night, a woman of rage and sinew, beats out sweet lullabies, it’s not an easy listen, here’s the stuff that chimes, like a bell on a kite, her face a sunlit paradigm, a glass in the sunshine

Robbie

Smoking a cigarette, I exhale, stuck here on my mind, a lover's face impaled, can anyone retain, that unforgiving light, the way she's famed, haunted, proud, regaled, she no longer asks why, about the time after jail, she was first to name, places where it's wise to lie, and safer still to fade, a woman beyond the pale, who beat out her time, danced around the flames, crossed uncertain terrain, laughed beneath each sky, small wonder that I failed, colours brighter than mine

Questa

Who forgets generous acts, standing by an unlit lamp, drawing fire, watching ships, are those who give always first, waiting for a scan, measured by horizons, does my husband's laughs, need a tree, a bridge, a candle, to rattle around our pan, send us money by post, we’re jobless on the tramp, throw salt at our ghosts, decant us like the sacrosanct, stamp the Catholic stamp, drunk do not let us sag, tell us to get lost, spit saliva on our plans, for you the baptised hosts, always give what you can.

Paloma

Who wants to be free, asks my lover, I do, my hearts skips a key, nothing between her and the sun, the breeze whispers on the peninsula, says she thinks we’re done, my bright intensity, bends awkward out of trouble, unhampered by serendipity, the smell of her perfume, makes me think of mother, who also played out of tune, light has a kind of density, it leaves no spaces for cover, wish I could join the Fleet, she'll stand by her ruins, places run out of love, so close to the truth, it’s hard to keep going.

Olivia

Who wants the last kiss, asks my lover, eyes raised as if nothing amiss, nowhere between us and sea, a kindly breeze on the peninsula, it makes me want coffee, her eyes full of mist, given over to watching others, nails painted and clipped, same colour in our infancy, the great light untroubled, she thinks she's a celebrity, a blinding sky resists, any hope of cover, she'll look for passing ships, places that bear no scrutiny, it's a small step to bother, her being happy, a marriage running over.

Natalia

Bending smiles to blonde seats, the kids who drink wine, laugh up from the Bleachers, a twisted smile between, wooden decks that blind, soften cool blue evenings, she sees the creep of moon, regular as the lemon night, dance sourballs in her glass, men who only want room, to enlighten their lives, love the way she loves them, but the goal, the jewel, escapes each time, only makes them drool, sikn laughter at such scenes, nothing can entwine, her great sense of being, she’s never frightened.