Saturday 28 May 2011

Margaret & Malcom

MARGARET & MALCOLM

When Margaret first met Malcolm
she baked him a pie
of magpies she had caught
with her chattering.

After the honeymoon
she took him to Big Sur
where the snaking highway leaps
across canyons on towering bridges.

They made love beneath the redwood
the music of their movements
arousing the faerie spirits
who cheered at their union.

On her shoulders she carries
two black dogs with faces like cats'
their long tails locking
with the plaits of her hair.

Someone gave her two axolotls
salamanders from Mexico
but one of them died
before the vet could arrive.

Malcolm fell on the cliffs
trapping his leg in a fissure
drowning slowly as the waves
swept over him at the incoming tide.

Margaret cried
till her tears
turned her jewels
into feathers.

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 5th August 1994

Publications

1996 Swagmag (UK)
1998 The Bohemian Forest (Internet)

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