The Colours of Her Skirt
Too small to see inside the basket on her lap
I imagined magical things;
spells, perhaps, or curses I’d been told
or necklaces of tiny bones.
The colours of her skirt
flashed and danced in streams of kitchen sun
as they sipped their tea, discussed
the weather; unseasonably cold, they thought.
I wondered if her horse-drawn home
was warmer than my icy room
or if she too swiftly disappeared
under a prickly blanket.
As she left I peered into the cup to see
what the leaves might show.
A shilling and an item were exchanged.
No magic token but a handkerchief of silk.
Tim Fellows is a poet and writer from Chesterfield, Derbyshire. His poetry was initially inspired by the history of mining in this area and by its landscape. His pamphlet, Heritage, was published by Glass Head Press in 2019 but more recently he has been working on translations of the Spanish poet Miguel Hernández.
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