H is for Poem by Lies Van Gasse

H is for
heroine, help function, habitat
hand towel, home sickness, homemade marmalade,
halves that close into rooms.

H is for handiness,
wallpaper hanging, rehashing
heaving a sigh after a house move.

H is for heart-shaped:
the hemisphere that becomes a world
in which you alone fit, helpless,
overhauled after howling.

H is for hindrance
a hobby horse, a hat rack
your handshake on a half-moon holiday
the absence of a heat shield.

H is for half-mast:
no hands-free unhoisting
the harbour master's ahoy,
the hound on the hill.

H is for the prehistoric man in the farmhouse,
the hotel by the haystack
your holdall beneath the porthole,
your hamster, hand-hot.

H is for homely:
highchair in the corner house
the hair band like a horseshoe hugging your head
your hunger for honey

the harmony of a heavenly body
beautifully hailstoned -