Dictionary Definitions
I took the book you gave me for my
birthday, and smashed it across my skull,
the Concise Oxford Dictionary. It
was reassuringly heavy and full
in my hands, a New Edition for the ‘90s,
one thousand four hundred and sixty-four
pages. It was the only thing I had to hand
to slam etymologies of sense into me.
No words were harmed during this violent
act of self-punishment and release, they
remained safe inside their hardback cover.
No words escape from me either still, thirty
years later, as I bludgeon my brain to find
a way to express what you did to me.
London’s Daughter
These walled streets through which I walk,
Remind me of where I’m coming from,
Resign me to where I’m going to.
Discreetly, concretely, I beseech thee to
Let me through, I am London’s daughter.
Wattle and daub, bricks and mortar.
These sunken ships on which I sail,
All aboard for the city.
Newspapered professionals sitting pretty
Self-made all in a row.
Let me pass, I am here at last, where
Lectricity and scalators build subterranean skyscrapers.
Flesh and bone, blood and water
Lead me home, I am London’s daughter.
An audio version of this poem is available here: https://jpseabright.com/visual-audio/