ISSN: 1941-4137
POETRY THAT ENACTS THE ARTISTIC AND CREATIVE PURITY OF GLASS
POETRY THAT ENACTS THE ARTISTIC AND CREATIVE PURITY OF GLASS
Paul Bavister has published three collections of poetry with Two Rivers Press, his latest being The Prawn Season. His work has appeared in a wide range of print and online magazines and journals, including Oxford Poetry, The Rialto and The North. His poem, "Starlings" came highly commended in the RSPB/Rialto poetry competition. He was the Creative Writing Fellow at the University of Reading and has taught at Birkbeck College, University of London and for Oxford University's Department for Continuing Education. He lives and works in Dorset, UK and is currently working on a new collection.
May 21, 2025
Necropolis
Dad was head gardener for the hundred acre
cemetery that sprawled around the Victorian lodge
where we were born. We played hide-and-seek
in bushes where rusted train tracks ended in moss.
A hundred years before, this was the end
of the line that carried coffins from the city.
We’d hit the rails with rocks, and the rumble
shook the cemetery, sending white doves
up against the yew trees. A happy childhood.
Our dad would climb the giant redwoods
and cut branches as we stared in awe.
He would wave and chuck us pine cones.
When hearses purred in, we’d find a quiet corner
and turn grave planks into bike ramps.
I don’t remember rain, just sun, soft dry lawns
and cherry blossom. Then I grew up and left.
Now, when I’m stressed, a low hum rises
in my head, and I hum along until the tone
matches the rumble of the ghostly rails
of the necropolis line. My worries
are swept up and away past the trees
like doves flying into the sun.
Glass: A Journal of Poetry is published weekly by Glass Poetry Press.
All contents © the author.
All contents © the author.
