The anchoress – a poem by Mathew Lyons

The anchoress


ghost sister // given to prayer
your heart wants out // the body’s cage

the body’s prison // a cell
god’s hive // sets it free

ghost sister // finger to dry in
on goat skin // wet with the spirit

by candlelight // wild swimming
with the spirit // in you

you in the waters // of the spirit
you alive // as the animal air

writhing // after a bell is struck 
steaming // wet with the storm

of first light // raining in your cell
with the silence // ghost sister

with my ghost // and me, sister
listening for thunder // at the wall

Mathew Lyons is based in East London. His poems have appeared in Bad Lilies, The Interpreter’s House, Reliquiae and Under the Radar, among others.