At Birdoswald
There’s iron on the wind.
Sunset gasps from the horizon,
dusk circles like a cloak of feathers,
light flees the amassing darkness
and each breath hangs
like a ghostly membrane
promising a night of stars and stories.
After days of disquiet
I feel surrounded by tinder, fear
the burst of a match on shavings
of my soul and embers fanned
by the darkling wind. But here,
amongst the squatting ruins,
my crowded mind stills its chatter,
descends deeper into the landscape,
transcends time. I feel the scratch
of memory, smell the woodsmoke
of regret, touch the bruise of fear caught
between cracks of then and now,
hidden in the hillocks around me
like the suggestion of bones beneath skin.
Copyright © Kriss Nichol 2015
www.krissnichol.co.uk
Twitter – @KrissNichol
Facebook – Kriss Nichol, Writer
Blog http://aninvisiblewoman.wordpress.com
Novel – In Desolate Corners, Shadows Crouch:a story of loss and redemption set in the wild places of Northumberland and Cumbria – available in paperback and Kindle from Amazon
Poetry – The Language of Crows :a collection of poems available from the author
Poetry – Between Lands : a collaboration of poetry and photographs on a Greek myth theme with fine art photographer Elliot Nichol available from www.elliotnicholphoto.co.uk
