Poem: When Puck Was a Boy

When Puck Was a Boy

for cousin Richard

Once upon a time

my love, we lived close to the earth,

on hands and knees we roamed

the four corners of our world:

dog-run, lilac tree, clothes line,

caterpillar farm.

At eye-height with blades of grass,

we brushed against

the timelessness of bee-song,

the whisper of indigo swirls.

Once my love and a time

my love, close to the earth.

Aglow, aglow

in the company of snails,

we left our silver trail behind.

Once upon a time

my love, we danced before the

beautiful unknown…

Having lived in several locations throughout Australia and Europe, Ann Somerville-Charles is currently based in Adelaide. Writing poetry for over fifty years, her poems have appeared in anthologies in Australia, the UK and Japan. She is also a composer whose work is ‘inspired by personal memories and the natural world’. Her clarinet piece Carnival, along with a photo of Ann, featured on the Vox Novus contemporary short-form compositions site.

Readers’ original and unpublished poems of up to 40 lines can be emailed, with postal address, to [email protected]. Submissions should be in the body of the email, not as attachments. A poetry book will be awarded to each accepted contributor.