‘The Shock of This’ by Clive Donovan The shock of thiscreature womanlying still – not asleepher middle portion rises and fallsher soft breath steady The reclining formlike a great catat a zooor the couchof a sculptor’s studio Gentle flickersof movement – avidlyI ponder mouth openwhat will she do next? My God she ismoving her armin a broad arcin a broad arc she sweepslike a firm slow scythe She reaps – what?Molecules of airmy fascinated eyes followto her new point of restwhere she spreads into adjacent space Manoeuvring like an oysteron a table breathing with the quickened waves of warm delighther lips openin the pink blush of twilight. Meet the Poet! Clive Donovan is the author of two poetry collections, The Taste of Glass [Cinnamon Press] and Wound Up With Love [Lapwing] and is published in a wide variety of magazines including Acumen, Agenda, Crannog, Fragmented Voices, Prole, Sentinel and Stand. He lives in Totnes, Devon, UK. He is a Pushcart and Forward Prize nominee for 2022’s best individual poems. Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Like this:Like Loading... Published by fragmentedvoices A small, independent press based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK, and Prague, the Czech Republic View all posts by fragmentedvoices