Let Us Be Careful

More could be said
of a dead fly
in the window
of a small shed,
and of an iron typewriter
that hasn’t
lifted a key in years
both in delight
and dark despair.

Merrymakers

A troop of late night revellers,
most likely shown the door
at some after-hours club
or a party in the neighbourhood,
still whooping it up
as they stagger down the street
with a girl in a wedding dress
walking pigeon-toed far behind them,
and calling out in distress:
‘Hey, you! Where the fuck
do you think you’re going?’

Passing Through

An unidentified,
inconspicuous someone,
smaller than a flea
snuck over my pillow last night,
unbothered by me,
in a big rush, I bet,
to get to his church
and thank his saints.

In Its Own Sweet Time

That one remaining, barely moving leaf
The wind couldn’t get to fall
All winter long from a bare tree –
That’s me! Thinks the old fellow,

The one they roll out in a wheelchair
So that he can watch the children
Play in the park, their mothers
Gossip all day about their neighbours

While pigeons take turns landing
And taking off from a newly arrived hearse
Parked in front of the parish church,
Dragging his gaze along as they do.

Send Letters To:

The Editor
London Review of Books,
28 Little Russell Street
London, WC1A 2HN

letters@lrb.co.uk

Please include name, address, and a telephone number.

Read anywhere with the London Review of Books app, available now from the App Store for Apple devices, Google Play for Android devices and Amazon for your Kindle Fire.

Sign up to our newsletter

For highlights from the latest issue, our archive and the blog, as well as news, events and exclusive promotions.

Newsletter Preferences