Poetry inspires poetry, inevitably. And here below is a poem written in response to one or more of those in A Commonplace. And very nice it is too. Published by kind permission of the author.
Missing
after Won’t by Jonathan Davidson
Mum’s hands stiff as clothes pegs
shuffle through a dog-eared hat box,
black, white, sepia photos some creased,
some nameless. She pushes one
towards me as if caught in a sudden breeze.
Who is that sitting by the river?
I ask, but she has drifted in
frozen to a moment long gone
and doesn’t answer. A butterfly
flies off the curtain towards the window.
She’s frowning at the young man
sitting by the river, a rucksack
crumpled against his feet. He’s my father
I whisper, he must have been here.
by Kerry Darbishire
Written during a workshop led by Kim Moore at the Kendal Poetry Festival 2021
Kerry Darbishire lives in Cumbria, England where most of her poetry is rooted. Her two poetry collections: A Lift of Wings and Distance Sweet on my Tongue are with Indigo Dreams Publishing and a biography, Kay’s Ark with Handstand Press. Her poems appear widely in magazines and anthologies. She has won and been shortlisted in several prizes including Bridport 2017. Kerry’s third collection (joint winner of the Full Fat Collection, Hedgehog Press) will be published in 2022. She tweets @kerrydarbishire
Jonathan Davidson 