In-spite Of/Because Of, by Anna Hoghton
This poem is read by Chris Beale, a performance poet who runs the event series Bristol Tonic. He is a writer, producer and a real supporter of libraries.
The Poem
It is the most beautiful spring I can remember, Bright blue sky, and windows filled with soft sunlight Flamingo-pink blossom floats on the cherry trees Wild garlic wafts across the breeze, and the birds who Used to fight make their voices heard over cars Seem to sing their arias louder, I see more Robins, and a woodpecker – drumming on a branch. It feels – a bit like magic, like childhood; like we’ve Stepped back in time. Someone has cast a spell and stopped The dizzy axis spinning, slowed the constant churning, Made the world’s colours brighter; or else our eyes wider. Is it because death – that things that comes to all of us – Never usually worth mentioning – Feels closer? Or that chaos is only a country away?
But dad says this is a marathon not a sprint
Takes his NHS leave to set an example
Plants potatoes in his garden, comes for a walk
With us in the woods, which we are doing daily now.
Between the trees, the sky’s sentence is uninterrupted
By airplane contrails. Walking always makes us feel more sane.
Wasn’t it crazy, mum remarks, that only a few weeks
Ago we were working too hard then jetting away?
She was meant to be half-way up a volcano today.
Why? She wonders, sitting on a log in the sun,
Drinking warm coffee from a paper cup. It’s nice
Right here, isn’t it? Better than any cafe!
I sit – both beside her and six feet apart,
Yes, I agree. In-spite of, or because of – who can say?
But there is a good deal of gratitude to be found
In moments you’d forgotten might soon be taken away.