Poem 1

 

For Woman X

 

They hit you

Your school

They hit your head

You bled

And your Mummy said

It's all your own fault

Because I hate you

Because I am so sad

I scream

And hurt it all

And you are there

So it's you I hurt

 

You stayed away

You - with your 137 GCSEs

You - with your knowledge of me

My aliens

My Time

My spectrum

My genius

My idiot

You stayed away from

Everyone to stay alive

But not from me

 

And you did sex

Too young

Much too young

Because you needed to

Be seen

Because they hurt you

And you bled

From your head

And you ate

Because it didn't lie

 

And you had our children

Because they do not lie

And you bled

And you faced her

And you faced them

And you faced me

And you cried

 

AND YOU ROARED

Your blonde waved a burning Sun

At my some-time cold Moon

And my always-Sun

Burned

And burned

And burned

Always, always burns

 

I'm sorry

 

And your Moon

Wrapped the heat

Fed from it

Broke apart by it

Broke

Cried

But

Grew again

Knew again

Sighed

Breathed again

 

And you stood up

Strong

And we moved

And the bleeding

Left

And the flesh

Refreshed

And you won

 

© Nicholas Webb 2023