Poetry by Susan Darlington

            ​Kaarina Dillabough CC



HOSPITAL VISIT IN WINTER

He told me that winter
was the time of death;
that ice pierced the heart
of every living thing
and snow pulled a shroud
over the barren earth.

But looking at him
lying in the hospital bed -
arms desiccated twigs
and skin that’s bruised
with leaden skies - I tell him
it’s the time of hibernation.

That trees will be born anew
and birds will cluster on boughs
to become silhouettes of leaves.
I don’t know if he can hear me
but I swear that meltwater
starts to trickle from his eyes.

​

Susan Darlington’s poetry regularly explores the female experience through nature-based symbolism and stories of transformation. It has been published in Fragmented Voices, Algebra Of Owls, Dreams Walking, and New Feathers Anthology among others. Her debut collection, ‘Under The Devil’s Moon’, was published by Penniless Press Publications (2015). Follow her @S_sanDarlington   

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