Jane Ayres

duet
 
your last breath
shifts
sheds skin
for oilslick
feathershine
finds sweet voice
with blackbird
becomes avian
 
dawn chorus
 
continuous
melody
glitters
mends
my broken heart
 
ascension
 
on the windowsill
your favourite robin
stands sentry
his beloved song
keeps company
a gift
the perfect soundtrack
as you diminish
finally slip from
this world &
take the next flight
 
the intricate rhythms of tiny birds
 
this morning
I opened a book
& a tiny bird flew out
 
although
his wings
seemed to
            	        grow
 
as he got closer
to the light
from my window
 
the unassuming sky
 	         soft colours
 	         & whispering angels
                                     	                          waiting 
 
the myth of the crimson kiss (love bites)
 
blood on the curtain
still warm to the touch
aren’t we all monsters
in our own way? 
 
Stitching Time
 
I put a seashell to my ear
& we walk softly. Sad, lost,
fallen things. Caustic strangers.
 
Melancholy (cryptic companion)
has tenacious shadowy roots &
I put a seashell to my ear,
 
watching, waiting. Lives
entangled. Entwined
fallen things, caustic strangers
 
knotted, tightly shackled. I
carry them in my heart & head &
I put a seashell to my ear
 
when we walk. I
remember moments, stillborn
fallen things. Caustic strangers
 
losing a loved one. We
reflect on all the others lost.
I put a seashell to my ear.
Fallen things, caustic. Strangers.
 
The algorithms of concealment
 
Rose knows
Rose knows but doesn’t care
Clare doesn’t care either
but then she doesn’t know
what Rose knows
 
Is keeping a secret     
the secret to
forged friendships?
 
flow
 
familiar drops
of blood
splash
 
into soapy water
pinking
greasy crockery
 
another nosebleed
relieves the
pressure

~~~

Jane Ayres has work in publications that include Magma, The North, and Lighthouse. In 2021, she was shortlisted for the Aesthetica Creative Writing Award, a winner of the Laurence Sterne Prize, and her first collection edible was published by Beir Bua Press (July 2022). Website: janeayreswriter.wordpress.com Twitter: @workingwords50 https://www.youtube.com/@slowgallop451 Jane was first featured in 2022 and was nominated for the 2022 Pushcart Prize for her piece – remembering.