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Helen Shay |
Helen Shay is a solicitor-turned-writer. She writes and performs poetry, and has had drama staged in new writing festivals at local theatres. Her work has appeared in various publications. She is currently taking an MA in Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Letting go
She does not cling anymore.
That sweating, grimy ,
too-young-to-have-a-wrist fist,
which clenched its red need
- staining into my arm –
has loosened.
Instead, a cooler hand touches mine.
Still dirt of play beneath those nails
but they are painted, each a different colour,
by fingers, eager to experiment
with bottles and jars
(my bottles and jars).
Soon that hand will let go.
She will have her own varnish.
And shall silver each long, full-grown nail
with brush strokes, sluicing with sparkle.
Then she’ll fleck her fingers to dry
- like a wave goodbye.