Retreat
turn from the freeway
high walls shut out
the grimy thunder of the street
closing the outer gate
a cloistered garden
where all paths converge
this dangerous space
dark woodwork with six candles
and a hanging pyx
worn seats
against the wall
a flickering light
about the rose bowl
emptiness extends
to pregnancy
words crumble
consume to flame
rise as the incense
stillness concentrates
wait
here is a cup
a vacancy
wait now
for honey to secrete
Tony Lucas lives in London, south of the river. His most recent collection, Unsettled Accounts, was published by Stairwell Books. Now retired from the Anglican ministry, his poetry has appeared on both sides of the Atlantic. He is currently working on a sequence of poems about being in the ‘here and now’, which may appear toward the end of the year.
Amethyst Review 