Voice of Calm
August 2023
Bedridden once again – shin splints, this time –
I found distractions through the aching days.
I had my friends, my work, the joy of rhyme
to ward off all the worries. But the blaze
of these activities was quiet at night
and catastrophic thoughts would overwhelm,
a tide directed by a moon too bright
to cast aside. Yet in this anxious realm,
I’d use a crutch to part the curtains wide
and watch a pigeon, sitting on the wall
or in a birch. Some anguish would subside
come dawn, when she began her soothing call.
Felicity Teague is a poet from Pittville, a suburb of Cheltenham, UK. She has had inflammatory arthritis since she was 12 yet is able to work from home as a copywriter and copyeditor, with her foremost interests including health and social care. Her poetry features regularly in the Spotlight of The HyperTexts; she has also been published by The Mighty, Snakeskin, The Ekphrastic Review, The Dirigible Balloon, Pulsebeat, Lighten Up Online and a local Morris dancing group. In December 2022, she published a small collection of poems, From Pittville to Paradise. Other interests include art, film, and photography.
Amethyst Review 