THE FOLLOWING POEM WAS SELECTED IN WINGWORD POETRY PRIZE 2023 LONGLIST.
Where does the forest end
And man’s dominion begin?
Where does the land disappear into the sky
Wiping the slate clean of his whim?
The falling apple from the tree,
Who does it belong to
You or me?
Hands soiled with imprudent plucking,
Minds infested with falsified need,
Breath,
Taste,
Smell,
Sight,
Senses corrupted,
Increasingly emptied of what they most need.
Skin,
Faces,
Stained in shades of
The earth and the sky,
Eyes
In Blues,
Blacks,
Browns,
And greens,
Peering out,
Seeking those virginal shades
Across the landscape
Of disembowelling dreams,
Hungering
What was stripped off,
Bartered in greed,
Staring emptily into horizons
Wondering,
Where does the forest end
And man’s subversion begin?
When will the land disappear into the sky
Wiping the slate clean of his whim?