October 2017 Winner

Winner: Anne Walsh Donnelly

It’s okay not to be okay

 

It’s not okay when my temples are clamped by a vice

shoulders list under a bag of slack

prune heart is stuffed with dead marrow

tongue turns ice-cream to grit

and I dream of drowning in white water rapids.

 

It’s not okay when people duck down

the hardware aisle in Tesco

to avoid meeting me at the checkout

or my doctor writes

I’m off work because of a virus

 

It would be okay if I could share my story

show you the crumpled autumn leaf on the pavement

and you would walk with me towards the first bud of spring.

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