Poem
Luke Kennard
Nut Factory
Nut Factory
Nut Factory
The unshelled peanuts pour down the flueLike a throng of ecstatic bald men, dancing.
I put my hands into the flue and raise them.
I let the peanuts fall over my head.
I place a nut between my teeth.
It tastes of pencil lead.
I place the bad nut in an iron trough.
When the trough is full it is taken to the furnace.
The good nuts are portioned, weighed
And sealed into foil bags – but I am not involved in this.
We can eat as many nuts as we like.
We are all so sick of nuts we cry sometimes.
Friday mornings we leave the factory, dancing,
Like unshelled peanuts pouring down a flue.
© 2007, Luke Kennard
From: The Harbour Beyond the Movie
Publisher: Salt Publishing, Cambridge
From: The Harbour Beyond the Movie
Publisher: Salt Publishing, Cambridge
Luke Kennard
(United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 1981)
In 2007 Luke Kennard became the youngest ever poet to be shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Collection with The Harbour Beyond the Movie. At the time he was reported to have said “I’m on the shortlist with people I studied at A-level” (The Observer, 2007). His first collection, The Solex Brothers (Stride Books), was published in 2005, the same year he received an Eric Gregory Award from...
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Nut Factory
The unshelled peanuts pour down the flueLike a throng of ecstatic bald men, dancing.
I put my hands into the flue and raise them.
I let the peanuts fall over my head.
I place a nut between my teeth.
It tastes of pencil lead.
I place the bad nut in an iron trough.
When the trough is full it is taken to the furnace.
The good nuts are portioned, weighed
And sealed into foil bags – but I am not involved in this.
We can eat as many nuts as we like.
We are all so sick of nuts we cry sometimes.
Friday mornings we leave the factory, dancing,
Like unshelled peanuts pouring down a flue.
From: The Harbour Beyond the Movie
Nut Factory
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