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2010 ABR Poetry Prize shortlist

by
April 2010, no 320

2010 ABR Poetry Prize shortlist

by
April 2010, no 320

Taken as Required

by Ynes Sanz

An age ago, ill-matched,
ignorant but willing,
we set the rules.
‘Step by Step’, we said. ‘No Bullshit.’
Today, thinking of something else
I stumbled across the grey metal bracelet
you looped over that stick of a wrist
where your thin blood stained the skin
to resemble an antique map or a bad tattoo
(like the one they inked on for that photo shoot in the ’50s).

Comment (1)

  • I'm only just getting into poetry, having never got it
    at school. Reading this poem gave me visions as stories of substance. I think of artists such as Leonard Cohen - ah, Various Positions.

    When you're force-fed classics as a kid, you're inclined to regurgitate them with a
    bitter
    bitter
    taste
    'cause you hate school and "home" and teachers 'n all.

    So thank you, Anthony Lawrence, for letting me see
    what is from what is not.

    That chalk-dust in its wake, I'm seeing it
    still.
    Posted by Noeleen
    29 July 2020

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