Spiral
A silver spiral, the clean curve
of a hand-crafted earring gaining weight
as each loop orbits the first.
Light lands gently,
lifts it like a sacred symbol, a sigil
that is constant in nature —
the whorls of a shell
the core of a tornado.
I think of a labyrinth on a Scottish shore
its journey of stones marked in the sand,
how the path curled to a cairn,
a feather, seaweed, driftwood
and how I stood
not knowing who made it
or what it meant
content to reach its still spot
feel myself unwind
Barbara Hickson’s poems have appeared in anthologies and journals including Poetry Salzburg Review, London Grip, Channel, Echtrai and Finished Creatures amongst many others. They have also won prizes in major competitions. She has two poetry pamphlets, A Kind of Silence (Maytree Press, 2021) and Only the Shining Hours (Maytree Press, 2024).
Barbara lives in Lancaster, UK, with her husband and is a keen fell-walker, organic gardener and nature conservation volunteer.
Amethyst Review 