February 24, 2019

Three Poems by Karen Ankers: "Beneath", "Dandelion Woman", and "And We Begin"

Karen Ankers is a poet, playwright and novelist, who lives in Anglesey, an island in Wales, Great Britain. Her poetry collection, One Word At A Time, described by poet/performer Laura Taylor as “a collection that shines with honesty and integrity”, was published last year. Her one-act plays have been performed in the UK, America, Australia and Malaysia. Her first novel, The Crossing Place, published in January 2018 by Stepping Stones Publishing, is currently being described as “gripping”, “compelling”, “captivating” and “brilliant”.





Beneath

you wrapped your love plainly
no garlanded words
no brightly ribbonned tight bound tales

no surprises
no disguises

used to darkness brightly wrapped
I opened you slowly
carefully
wary of what might lie beneath
edges torn by time and change

and found
nothing
I had not
already
seen



Dandelion Woman

I’m a dandelion woman
too bright to be ignored
too gaudy to be hidden

sunbrave I offer
a smile to brighten
dusty roadsides
ordered gardens
filthy pavements
broken buildings

I grow
in the cracks you want to forget
in places where nothing else can live
and I watch as you choose
not to see me

I spring back golden
when you pluck me from my place
while the others
the weaker ones
the pretty ones
the gentle softpetalled useless ones
nurtured and nourished
nod and smile
as they watch me die

I will grow again
roots bound safe in clinging soil
hide from your heavy shadow steps
while I dance with worms around your poison




And We Begin

a place beyond the need to need you
is the breathless space between your arms
where words are crushed by swollen lips
and tongues twist truth to tell a tighter tale

in this new world there is no light
only the honest darkness of the moment we connect
no room for clumsy words like guilt or me
no bonds beyond the clinging of our hands

trust without time to build a story
want that is answered with a kiss
love becomes a word to breathe by
the lives that led us both to this
have served their purpose
told their tale
run their course
had their time
done their thing
left their sting
in the hearts of those we leave behind



Karen Ankers

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