Migration
Swifts and swallows leave – while I grasp for memories like
fruit – remnants of home
riddled with holes – my baby cools in my arms
dripping fermented juice – the milk from her mouth
sweet – sticks under my fingernails
under blushing trees – the guards, with eloquent guns, demand my coat
those that can’t leave expect a cold winter – they smirk at my battered sweetbox
with its few hopes – inside are smuggled postcards of thatched houses
and promises – of English orchards.
This cleave poem was written specifically for the “Don’t be a stranger” initiative launched at this year’s Evangelical Alliance flagship event The Temple Address 2008, given at The Royal Society on the 27th November by The Archbishop of York; The Most Reverend and Right Honourable Dr John Sentamu. The cleave is included in the booklet accompanying this initiative and on the EA website and in upcoming press releases.
