Tamsin Williams

Every Colour Sang

Every colour sang waiting
for you.

Sung a soulful song
A glamorous glorious

Cry of

Why
Why
Why aren't you here?

Why cried Not-ready-to-be-dad.
Why cried You-who-didn't-see-the-time-was-nigh.

Instead you hid
From view.

Where even the doctor
Couldn't see you.

Little Beasty that
Burst through

Clouds to meet us
On an operating table.

Your gurgle beckoned.

My belly soft at last.

After too many pulls,
Twists, turns

The colours sing across
Sky that meets blue sea.

Greens, blues,
White cliffs

All sing
For you.

You who took so long.
You who didn't turn.

You.
Are.
Here.

Phew.

Can I have a cigarette now?

 

Possession

Milked mother on heat.
Prickly stubble breath
Onto my cheek.

Herded into bed
'For your safety' he said.

Pinning my arms.
Marshmallow ginger locks
Fall into my eye.

Strong cradled relief.

Youthful men in coarse uniform
Hold firm.

Hot pink hotel room
Clean lemon fresh sheets.

Their arms
Criss-cross my body
With muscular strength.
Caught.

Staring into glassy blue eyes.

Screeching
Pain
Shot through
My flank
Drops me into oblivion

A stone
Thrown
Out to sea

I drift
Drop
Blue smothers me.

 

‘I’d like to give a huge thank you to Company Paradiso for setting up this venture. I’ve written diaries all my life and played with ideas interweaving them in my art practice. This is the first time I’ve had respect as a writer. The mentoring process gently unleashed a fantastic torrent of poetry! See pages 14 and 108 and www.tamsinwilliams.com. I am mother to three year old Neve. I am also an active member of the Synergy Creative Community (see Contacts) and have bi-polar disorder. This diagnosis came after many frightening hospitalisations, peaking in 24 hours in a police cell in 2008...
“Give me an audience of beaming faces any day after that!...”