Among vetch and dandelions,
hollow shells, inhabitants gorged 
by blackbirds whose songs tremble
in summer’s heat, you emerge - 
wrap around my calves, bind
my arms, entwine my throat, caress
my neck, my ears – insidious
as haar that creeps in from the sea
to steal the sun. Overhead, siren
insistence of oystercatchers, while
beneath the hawthorn bush 
a magpie tilts its head. Across 
years and continents, 
we cannot decohere.

This poem was first published in Dust Poetry in May 2021.