In the Bungalow
after Jane Kenyon
i.m. Betty
She is like the biscuit tin
whose lid has been lifted
so many times, her landscape
design is blizzarding away.
She wants to offer you her last
pink wafer, custard cream, but has
only rich teas to match the pale brew
of her breath, her skimmed nights.
See how we are mirrored in the base
of her, scattered amongst the crumbs.
Caleb Parkin, Bristol City Poet 2020 - 22, has poems in The Rialto, The Poetry Review, Under the Radar, Poetry Wales, Magma, Butcher’s Dog, The Guardian and elsewhere. He tutors for Poetry Society, Poetry School, Cheltenham Festivals, First Story, Arvon and holds an MSc in Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes (CWTP). Debut pamphlet, Wasted Rainbow (tall-lighthouse, Feb 2021), debut collection This Fruiting Body is out now with Nine Arches Press. In 2022, he’ll publish a new pamphlet with Broken Sleep and his collected work as City Poet.