David Subacchi lives in Wales, where he was born of Italian roots. He studied at the University
of Liverpool and has four collections of his English Language poetry, First Cut (2012),
Hiding in Shadows (2014), Not Really a Stranger (2016) and A Terrible Beauty (2016), as well as
one in Welsh, Eglwys Yng Nghremona (2017). His work has appeared in many literary magazines and anthologies worldwide. You can find out more about David and his work at:
http://www.writeoutloud.net/profiles/davidsubacchi.
Starlings
What purpose – bright sky darkening
This high swirling,
What attraction
This confusion.
What profit – shutters opening
And then closing,
What inspiration
This motion.
What meaning – wings fluttering
Strange patterning,
What illusion
This diversion.
Barbour Jacket
It was an extravagance
The classic Barbour jacket,
With pockets for cartridges
And a superfluous belt
‘Treat it like a pair of shoes’
Whispered the shop assistant,
‘Polishing from time to time
Keeps its water resistance’.
Purchased in celebration
Of new home and employment,
A sign of aspiration
To a future affluence,
A little tin included
Containing some kind of grease,
A booklet of instruction
Never to be consulted.
It was a kind of statement
That classic Barbour jacket,
Becoming a second skin
In every place I travelled,
From Bangor down to London
And Exeter to Glasgow,
Twenty years of protection
Against wind and rain and snow.
In all the good restaurants
And on special occasions,
At weddings and funerals,
From school gate to court of law
The steel zips and studded trim
Of the classic Barbour jacket
Kept me safe and enfolded,
Within its waxen embrace.
Come Quickly!
For Jerry Lewis.
He’d put on a funny hat,
Pull a funny face,
Talk in a funny voice,
Then blow a raspberry.
A guy in a tuxedo,
Hair well-greased
Would sigh
Condescendingly
But dad would always shout
'Come quickly
It's Jerry Lewis
He's always funny’.
~David Subacchi
of Liverpool and has four collections of his English Language poetry, First Cut (2012),
Hiding in Shadows (2014), Not Really a Stranger (2016) and A Terrible Beauty (2016), as well as
one in Welsh, Eglwys Yng Nghremona (2017). His work has appeared in many literary magazines and anthologies worldwide. You can find out more about David and his work at:
http://www.writeoutloud.net/profiles/davidsubacchi.
Starlings
What purpose – bright sky darkening
This high swirling,
What attraction
This confusion.
What profit – shutters opening
And then closing,
What inspiration
This motion.
What meaning – wings fluttering
Strange patterning,
What illusion
This diversion.
Barbour Jacket
It was an extravagance
The classic Barbour jacket,
With pockets for cartridges
And a superfluous belt
‘Treat it like a pair of shoes’
Whispered the shop assistant,
‘Polishing from time to time
Keeps its water resistance’.
Purchased in celebration
Of new home and employment,
A sign of aspiration
To a future affluence,
A little tin included
Containing some kind of grease,
A booklet of instruction
Never to be consulted.
It was a kind of statement
That classic Barbour jacket,
Becoming a second skin
In every place I travelled,
From Bangor down to London
And Exeter to Glasgow,
Twenty years of protection
Against wind and rain and snow.
In all the good restaurants
And on special occasions,
At weddings and funerals,
From school gate to court of law
The steel zips and studded trim
Of the classic Barbour jacket
Kept me safe and enfolded,
Within its waxen embrace.
Come Quickly!
For Jerry Lewis.
He’d put on a funny hat,
Pull a funny face,
Talk in a funny voice,
Then blow a raspberry.
A guy in a tuxedo,
Hair well-greased
Would sigh
Condescendingly
But dad would always shout
'Come quickly
It's Jerry Lewis
He's always funny’.
~David Subacchi
