Transfigurations
HAND
you know it like the back of your proverbial
its practical dimensions
how the veins bulge blue over bones and tendons
and the skin faintly-lined fragile rain-resistant
how mottled it becomes in the gardening months
how it flows and moulds to muscle
holds everything together
there catch
APPLE
not just glossy reds and greens tracing the longitudes
pale flesh crisp and sweet as the morning star
or pips spawning myths of paths not taken
just this transparently
the Cox’s Orange Pippin on the table
LEAF
take hold this leaf in your miraculous hand
its inner workings in your mind’s eye
count the pulsing chlorophyll
follow the sap through its veins
let it fall into your stunned heart
Clare Bryden is a writer and web developer based in Exeter, UK. Her interests are wide-ranging, but primarily the place of humanity within the natural world of which we are part, and the related theology and psychology of connectedness. Her poetry has recently been published in The Merton Journal, Ink Sweat & Tears and Pulsebeat.
Website: clarebryden.co.uk
Bluesky: @clarebryden.bsky.social
Instagram: @ClareBrydenArtist
Amethyst Review 