/The morning merciless with beauty / nothing left to do but hear the empty air / breathe shallow /breathe deep /so no-one can stop you / no-one is there / no-one will stop the howling / go on /pick up the tools of the day /work the matchsticks / mock up of sorrow and joy /even anger and hope holding hands like fairy tale children run deeper into the forest leaving / wordless remembering / remembering the last embrace / how fingers scrabbled at the shoulder blades where once were wings /someone trying to unbury or plant / then pain / closer to the surface / its persistence / its push wanting to do / the morning merciless with beauty / this being / loved and being alone /how to bear it / loss hisses / today / this song

Poem and photograph by Jo Mariner