Three Poems by Anne Gill

Response Team

Above a light with a fabric shade.
Something soft against my skin.
A man’s voice. Holes in a jumper.
The image of a snail in my stomach.
Asking what? Asking something.
The yellow table. Peeling paint.
Cherry pits in a bowl on the table. 

The Avery

I.

A parrot monkey bars along the top
and closes its beak on your thumb.

Do you want to leave? 
You don’t reply.



II.

Longing is a dishwasher,
a traffic jam, a painted shell.

Wallpapering

After we’ve plaited ivy into the walls
we’ll kiss goodnight to the flowering mould

and a door will shut with a click
and I’ll sing you a lullaby about fish.

About the Author

Anne Gill is a founding member of the Second City Poets whose first collection, Playground, was published with Verve Poetry Press. She has performed her work both nationally and internationally, and was shortlisted for the Outspoken Prize for Performance Poetry 2019. Her pamphlet, Raft, was published in 2019 with Bad Betty Press. She can be found at her desk, or sitting on the pavement with the neighbourhood cats.