My poem Pestle and Mortar was the Fresh Poem of the week on the Pankhearst Blog today. Here’s the link!

Pestle and Mortar

Making it be, herb by herb
and crafting laughter
sown from buds of wilted ends
(either for lovers or for friends),
no sparks or smokes
but a burnt ring, brown and thin
like vintage tin
– firing –
blanking up a part of brain
and abruptly forgetting my own name.

Blindly grinding down choices
tough enough
to be conscious,
to invent that consequence,
so when I’m winding the weeds
there’s no skill spent with ill intent.

Inspiring visions to inward grow
reveal the raw thinking flows
from vein to lung to nose
to song sung out
as white silent shout
in need to make luck and give –
isn’t that sought by all who live?

© Caroline Hardaker 2015

This one came from a call out from a different publisher exploring myth, the other, magic. I hold these themes quite close to my heart anyway, I feel like I spend half of my life steeped in some sort of fantastical view of the world. I do think fables and myths are so ultimately universal that they resonate with lives spanning hundreds of years. They address core principles of humanity, such as morality, escapism, longing, to the very darkest of indulgences.

Thank you Pankhearst. I don’t think I’ve seen the last of you quite yet. 😉