Red Geranium on an Isolation Ward
She knew how to die –
the earth around her stem
was so dry it refused
the water we poured there
and though, like a ritual,
we snapped off
each bruised cluster
before it had time
to fall,
there was no renewal –
even the sun pushing
its fist through the window
could not coax her.
Maggie Sawkins is the author of five poetry collections: Charcot’s Pet, The Zig Zag Woman, Zones of Avoidance (winner of the 2013 Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry), Many Skies Have Fallen and, most recently, The House Where Courage Lives (Waterloo Press). She lives in an old station master’s house on the Isle of Wight and delivers writing projects in community settings for people from all walks of life. You can find her here: www.hookedonwords.me