MERMAID ON THE NUMBER 3
I know she is a mermaid because her hair
is the exact blue of a chromis fish
and is lit with yellowy-green streaks
like sunlight reaching down to a reef.
If I dove my face into its depths it would,
I know, smell of ozone and drying nets.
Her coat is sand-bank brown. Her nails, I note,
are coral coloured. Watching from behind
as she rolls a cigarette, I’m still sure
(in spite of nicotine stained fingers)
that should I turn to look as I alight
her tail will be coiled, thick and muscular
between the frowsy bus seats, and my eyes
will meet the full on glimmer of her scales.
By Emma Purshouse
Something you should know:
What has not been said about Wolverhampton Poet Laureate and novelist, Emma Purshouse? Maybe this, finding her work for the first time is so special, it’s like finding a well tuned piano in a plowed field and finding yourself able to play and sing Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk through to the end. Which you couldn't do before. Emma is just that great. Her most recent poetry collection is ‘Close’ (Offa’s Press). Her first novel ‘Dogged’ (Ignite Books) was published early in 2021. Emma has performed her work at spoken word nights and festivals across the UK.
Emma's website is here. Emma in Outsideleft, here.
Joy to Enjoy today:
12.01am: Ancient Champion - Under Pressure »»
1am: Ade Crossen - Thoughtful Choice »»
2am: Jackie Stein - The Battle of Social Media »»
3am: Dave Pitt - Spiderman Brendan »»
4am: Jimmy Andrex - Festival of Brexit »»
5am: Brendan Hawthorne - We Are Here »»
6am: Ahmed Magare - We Cannot Walk Alone »»
7am: Emma Purshouse - Mermaid on the Number 3 »»
8am: Rue Collinge - That Year »»
9am: Deborah Alma - Mother of Pearl »»
10am: Steve Pottinger - Fatima »»
11am: Jay Lewis - Betrayal 1991 »»
12pm: Hollie McNish - Honestly »»
1pm: Emma Purshouse - Five Minutes on a Midland Train »»
2pm: Rebecca Stanhope - Take Your Hands Off Me »»
3pm: Michael Pederson - Here in a Glasgow Tenement - Not Asleep, Not Awake Either »»
4pm: Glyn Phillips - Doorways »»
5pm: PixieVic - Curious Choices »»
6pm Christian Present - Poeme »»
7pm John Robinson - My Reply To You »»
8pm David Benjamin Blower - 47 »»
9pm Emma Purshouse - Feeling Low? »»
10pm Steve Pottinger - Jam today: Mrs Veronica Blake’s manifesto for a brighter future »»
11pm Jay Lewis - The Starling 1976 »»
