Poem
Ruth Padel
WORMS
WORMS
WORMS
May: the Dyad MoonOne cub has died on the road. Magpies
have eaten her. The last two play-learn, eat solid food
and follow their parents through dusk. Twins
of the Greek night sky, Castor and Pollux, shine
through damp London nights as earthworms
leave burrows. Parents spoon crane-flies off lawns
with their tongues, teach young to deadhead the bins
on Bemerton and Havelock, lift black plates
for frankincense, rot-lustre gems
of sunk baconfat. To strip flaking bark
for silverheave woodlice, listen
for worm-bristles rasping through grass.
If worm-tails are gripping the burrow –
even a worm can be frantic – the grey-black lips
pull gently taut – and pause – and pull again.
A technique used by bait-collecting fishermen.
© 2004, Ruth Padel
From: The Soho Leopard
Publisher: Chatto & Windus, London
This poem is part of a longer sequence, \'The Kings Cross Foxes\'.
From: The Soho Leopard
Publisher: Chatto & Windus, London
Ruth Padel
(United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 1947)
“Ruth Padel combines two major gifts. She is a distinguished poet and a quite exceptional reader of the poetry of others, with a delightful skill in explanation and the instinct of a caring, clearsighted guide to how poetry works and why it matters.”
(George Steiner)
Amongst her many plaudits, Ruth Padel was the winner of the Poetry Society’s National Poetry Competition in 1996. She was Chair of ...
(George Steiner)
Amongst her many plaudits, Ruth Padel was the winner of the Poetry Society’s National Poetry Competition in 1996. She was Chair of ...
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WORMS
May: the Dyad MoonOne cub has died on the road. Magpies
have eaten her. The last two play-learn, eat solid food
and follow their parents through dusk. Twins
of the Greek night sky, Castor and Pollux, shine
through damp London nights as earthworms
leave burrows. Parents spoon crane-flies off lawns
with their tongues, teach young to deadhead the bins
on Bemerton and Havelock, lift black plates
for frankincense, rot-lustre gems
of sunk baconfat. To strip flaking bark
for silverheave woodlice, listen
for worm-bristles rasping through grass.
If worm-tails are gripping the burrow –
even a worm can be frantic – the grey-black lips
pull gently taut – and pause – and pull again.
A technique used by bait-collecting fishermen.
From: The Soho Leopard
This poem is part of a longer sequence, \'The Kings Cross Foxes\'.
WORMS
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