By: Christian Ward

Lake, Frozen

Freezing weather
turned the lake
into an icy tear.
The snow covered
hillside, swept aside
like a brushstroke
gone wrong, indifferent.
The blue sky, framed
in its Post-it note,
offers no consolation
to the frozen-over lake —
like the name of someone
you once loved trapped
in a wintry breath,
only to dissipate so quickly
it was like they never existed at all.

###

Stars

What is the point
of keeping the sun
in your locket,
if you can’t even
feel its rays kissing
you in the morning?

Capture a comet’s
frozen heart instead.
Let it fling you
across the sky
so you might see
everything
you’ve been missing.

###

Hammerhead Worm
Bipalium

Sliced mushroom head
doesn’t have quite the ring
to it. Don’t care. I poison my way
through life in disco attire
while asking death for a dance.
I don’t fear a bird’s sword-beak.
Split my body into a jigsaw
and each part will turn into another
version. I pity the earthworms I feast on.
They lack the audacity to duel
with this outcome. They accept
their fate, turning the earth dark
with their sadness. To conclude
our chat, I’m every tarot card
you fear. Perhaps I’ll slip inside
your ear while you sleep
and tunnel my way into your dreams.
Look out for the man who puts you
under the knife to swap your eyes
with snooker balls, your lungs
with bananas and your heart
with a disco ball. We all need a little fun.

###

Midsomer Murders

Common is a body starfished
in the swimming pool, the aristocrat
doing her best Icarus impression
after being shoved off a roof, another
hacked to death by a mediaeval knight
or drowned in a beer vat, fed
to wild boars like an appetiser or shot
in a Wild West tournament. Other
deaths blamed on UFOs, obsessive
ballerina fans and cults with hearts
as dark as poppy seeds. Natural
is the invisible spectator communicating
with victims before each demise.
Portentous is the botfly lodged
like a miner halfway down a sheep’s brain.
Portentous is the inflatable shark
deflating under the midday sun.
Portentous is the crown of hornets
circling a fallen apple stuffed with fly eggs.