Inspired by Wallace Stevens’ Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird
I
The world was born
From the point of light
In a seagull’s pale eye
II
Beneath the sign
DON’T FEED THE SEAGULLS
The seagulls feed themselves
III
In the sea’s deep crypt
Two oysters and a mussel
Dream of seagulls
IV
In the woods of confusion
The way out is marked
By a trail of seagull droppings
V
The sun plays Midas on the water
While two seagulls play Mars
Over a limp sandwich
VI
A flock of seagulls
And a raven
Is still a flock of seagulls
VII
In a castle’s cobbled forecourt
A seagull and a collared dove
Hold court
VIII
When skies are violent
A seagull’s muscular wings
Hold up moisture-rich clouds
IX
Killers from the egg
Each seagull knows
How to catch a pike
X
In a manor’s formal gardens
Where a marble fountain tinkles
A seagull’s cries are informal
XI
From a train’s rectangular window
Seagulls chase after a plough
Like a sudden snow blizzard
XII
One of Braque’s birds
Dreamt that in another life
He was a seagull
XIII
Alone on a beach, a child watches
As a dead seagull’s wing flaps
Quietly in the breeze
‘Killers from the egg’ is from Ted Hughes’s poem Pike
Author of two books of poetry: Surfacing (2018) and What the Owl Taught Me (2020), both published by Lapwing Poetry. Annest has been published in many literary journals, both online and in print, and in anthologies. She has been placed in several writing competitions, winning one. She lives on the coast of north west Wales with her rescue dog. Twitter: @AnnestGwilym
Robin Ouzman Hislop is Editor of Poetry Life and Times at Artvilla.com ; You may visit Aquillrelle.com/Author Robin Ouzman Hislop about author & https://poetrylifeandtimes.com See Robin performing his work Performance (University of Leeds)