3 English Poems From Mind Spaghetti Poem by Sheena Blackhall

Mors certa, hora incerta/ Death is certain, its hour is uncertain


I'll end my days like smoke from the burning bush
My nemesis, death, will strike like an adder bite

For years I have lived a hermit'sexistence
A still life, wetted coal avoiding a spark

Change happens.The sand whispers its secrets
To heavy starlight. All the pretty clouds have drifted off

The monster, guilt,has vandalised my days
Going, going, gone, my youth,
Shovelled under the claggy earth

The fireworks of passion, damp squibs now
I was never a mother's joy
Only a caught breath between broken phrases



Statistics at 73
I have touched 4 coffined corpses
I have received zero valentines
I have never twice replied to Spam mail
I have burned 3 pans on the stove
I have covered 10 dead birds with grass
I have watched 8 hydrangea bushes fail to thrive
I have been bitten by millions of midges
I have spread the common cold to umpteen hosts
I have caught 3 feathers from an angel's wing
I have climbed Lochnagar 10 times
I have never cooked a perfect family meal
I have driven over 3 unhappy pheasants
I have nearly drowned once in the River Dee
I have given birth 3 times to 4 children
I have 22 teeth left in my mouth
I am like an ageing stag with rotten antlers
A hermit crab that doesn't get out so much




The Magic of Plant Names
Devil's dropping,Witch's butter, Meat of goblins, Devil's hoof
Devil's snuffbox, Wolf's parrot, Devil's guts, Bleeding heart
Milk thistle, Hooded skullcap, Toadflax, Bride weed
Corpse flower, Sticky Willy, Butcher's broom, Donkey Fart

Mouse tail, Pointed finger, Hebejeebie trifida
Water hemlock, Deadly nightshade, Fairy bells, Devil's claw
Bee Balm, Shooting star, Kings' foil, Larkspur
Cowslip, Elf dock, Fairy fingers, Tiger's jaw

Old man's beard, Pussy willow, Catnip, Cat's whiskers
Black eyed Susan,Snapdragon, Spider lily,Devil's Dung
Ox eye daisy, Nipplewort,SpiderwortSneezewort
Corn silk, Stinkhorn, Mother-in-law's Tongue