Guest editor Clive Birnie selected this poem because, he says, “I love the reflections of sounds; diaries, fairies…”
How to build a home
after Clare Shaw
Cover the bare bulbs
with tassels and shades
that take the light
and warm and dull it.
Place boots in the hallway.
They will tangle
into a comfortable pile
within a week.
Hang photos from friends.
Frame cards drawn by your son
Sucker the sun-catcher
over your view of the valley.
Add bunting
and fairy-lights
to places
that harbour darkness.
Store your love letters, diaries and vinyl
in a corner of the attic
so you can find them yearly
on your spring clean.
Place candles by the bath,
a chili plant in your porch.
Put fairy doors
next to the wheelie bins.
Fashion a home
from these walls
of Yorkshire stone.
Sarah L Dixon is based in Linthwaite and tours as The Quiet Compere. She has been most recently published in Confluence and Marble. Her first book, ‘The sky is cracked’, was released by Half Moon Press in November 2017 and her book ‘Adding wax patterns to Wednesday’ is due out with Three Drops Press in late 2018. Sarah’s inspiration comes from being close to water and adventures with her son, Frank (8).
Celebrating Change 