Plums
When he tells me one day
‘I feel happy’
my heart shifts the heavy branch
broken off last year, overladen with fruit
that has slumped under cowls of moss
and wet leaves.
He has found for me
the tiny plums fused to the stalks,
florescent blue, midnight lapis
set in copper filigree.
Caroline Smith was shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award. Her new book, ‘Bycatch’ is is forthcoming in October with Nine Arches Press. She is a 2025 Hawthornden Fellow.