"Right here" and other work by Zoe Davis
Right here
love is
an abundance of cool dark earth
eternal bed
in which I am
snug planted
watered by your daylight tears
forgetting I am
still here
raising sapling hands to praise
a different sky
to connect with you through
veils of ashen soil
I am
still here but also here
and here I am
a dandelion clock
now
is my time
part of me has drifted away
to spread new life
but my roots
my love
remain
right here.
Reflections in Stone
In the cemetery of my hometown there was a gravestone
I would not pass
with my eyes open.
Believe me, in childish confidence & self-conjured darkness
it did not exist
& therefore
neither did Death.
Our path led past a red brick church a leafy shortcut home.
I begged for us (mother&me) to take the longer route but there was no time. No time at all
for cotton candy fears
so, I clung to her hand
hid behind her
& allowed myself to be led
blind
past that weathered skull leering knowing
names did not haunt me:
Dearly Beloved
Gone Too Soon
Loving Father, Cherished Wife
it was just that skull
that fleshless, chiselled stone
already carved into me, to stay in permanence dread-crafted ivory
realising through peeking fingers it was not Death I feared
no. it was the future the time
when there would be no more hands to hold
no alternate path to take
the day when I would eventually be alone.
Zoe Davis is an emerging writer and artist from Sheffield, England. A Quality Engineer in advanced manufacturing by day, and a writer by night, she spends her evenings and weekends creating spooky stories and haunting poetry, as well as drawing all the random characters that live in her head. You can read her words in publications such as Acropolis Journal, MONO., Hearth & Coffin, Hungry Shadow Press, and many more. Her other interests include baking, crochet, and playing para ice hockey. You can follow her on Twitter @MeanerHarker where you are always welcome to join her for a virtual coffee and a chat.