Poem
Mandy Coe
On the Line
On the Line
On the Line
On the telegraph pole a seabird percheswhite against black cloud.
Centring the maypole of conversations
it transforms our calls. Hello? Hello?
Words pass up its pink legs, behind
red-ringed eyes, through the yellow bill,
down every feather’s quill and feather-edge,
until the fractal distances connect
and we shout over our shoulder:
It’s a seabird on the phone! A seabird wants to speak to you.
And raindrops glide to join at each wire’s dip
and growth rings
in the pinewood pole
dry and crack as we press plastic
to our ears, frowning:
Who is this? Speak up!
© 2015, Mandy Coe
Mandy Coe
(United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 1957)
Mandy Coe is the author of six books: four collections of prize-winning poetry, one graphic novel and one non-fiction book Our Thoughts Are Bees (co-written with poet Jean Sprackland), on working with writers and schools. She is a staunch educationalist and believes that ‘Poetry for children brings literature to life and into our lives in a way no other genre can.’
Poems
Poems of Mandy Coe
Close
On the Line
On the telegraph pole a seabird percheswhite against black cloud.
Centring the maypole of conversations
it transforms our calls. Hello? Hello?
Words pass up its pink legs, behind
red-ringed eyes, through the yellow bill,
down every feather’s quill and feather-edge,
until the fractal distances connect
and we shout over our shoulder:
It’s a seabird on the phone! A seabird wants to speak to you.
And raindrops glide to join at each wire’s dip
and growth rings
in the pinewood pole
dry and crack as we press plastic
to our ears, frowning:
Who is this? Speak up!
On the Line
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