Jo Shapcott: Poems Poem Text

Jo Shapcott: Poems Poem Text

Hairless (Excerpt)

Can the bald lie? The nature of the skin says not:

it's newborn-pale, erection-tender stuff,

every thought visible,—pure knowledge,

mind in action—shining through the skull.

I saw one, a woman, hairless absolute, cleaning.

She mopped the green floor, dusted bookshelves,

all cloth and concentration, Queen of the moon.

Procedure (Excerpt)

This tea, this cup of tea, made of leaves,

made of the leaves of herbs and absolute

almond blossom, this tea, is the interpreter

of almond, liquid touchstone which lets us

scent its true taste at last and with a bump

in my case, takes me back to the yellow time

Era (Excerpt)

The twenty-second day of March two thousand and three

I left home shortly after eight thirty

on foot towards the City. I said goodbye

to the outside of my body: I was going in.

The magpies were squabbling in the park.

The little fountain splashed chemical bubbles

over its lip. Traffic swarmed and swam

round Vauxhall Cross, like crazy fish, with teeth.

- Jo Shapcott

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