Manuka Honey
You believed in viscous
gloop of Manuka honey
syrup to heal your wounds
from navel to pubis
the lacuna
of Fallopian tubes
the womb you cursed
& were glad to be rid of
(on the surface).
Outside Saint Mary’s
on a grass verge
you ushering our fingertips
to the stitch
& itch you saw as positive
the sun at solstice
& speaking of the anatomy
of a flower, its completeness
against your abdomen
how you held the carpel
close
& how it cast a shadow.
Patrick Wright has a poetry collection, Full Sight of Her (Eyewear), which was nominated for the John Pollard Prize. He has also been shortlisted for the Bridport Prize. His poems have appeared in Poetry Ireland Review, The North, Southword, Poetry Salzburg, Agenda, Wasafiri, and London Magazine. He has a second collection, Exit Strategy, which will be published by Broken Sleep Books in 2025.