Poem
Ruth Padel
THE PHOENIX
THE PHOENIX
THE PHOENIX
Her once-red head lockedIn a tank of steam.
Her face, foxing down into nothing
Saying “All my beauty’s gone.”
She’s holding on
To your wrist, your bare arm,
Through a shock hedge of wiring, spliced
Every which way to intestines
And rationing herself to Seven Up
(Plus morphine) on the rocks.
So cold, under the striplight
Night after night
Through all the carry-ons:
The bubble-cloud of rosaries,
The small-hours foraging for ice
In the hospital kitchen. But so proud
Of this big cuckoo she
Brought into the world, as you
Sang with her, day after glary day,
All the words of all the Jim Reeves songs
Or any you rustled up between you,
Anything anyone there could sing about –
“Tipperary”, “Star of the Sea” –
To ease that inward
Journey, launch her out.
© 2002, Ruth Padel
From: Voodoo Shop
Publisher: Chatto & Windus, London
From: Voodoo Shop
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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Poems of Ruth Padel
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THE PHOENIX
Her once-red head lockedIn a tank of steam.
Her face, foxing down into nothing
Saying “All my beauty’s gone.”
She’s holding on
To your wrist, your bare arm,
Through a shock hedge of wiring, spliced
Every which way to intestines
And rationing herself to Seven Up
(Plus morphine) on the rocks.
So cold, under the striplight
Night after night
Through all the carry-ons:
The bubble-cloud of rosaries,
The small-hours foraging for ice
In the hospital kitchen. But so proud
Of this big cuckoo she
Brought into the world, as you
Sang with her, day after glary day,
All the words of all the Jim Reeves songs
Or any you rustled up between you,
Anything anyone there could sing about –
“Tipperary”, “Star of the Sea” –
To ease that inward
Journey, launch her out.
From: Voodoo Shop
THE PHOENIX
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