
Two Poems
Gordon Vells
The Eyes of a Pine Marten
looking into the eyes of a pine marten
there was no holding of gaze
there was no recognition of shared experience
there was no deep time
there was me looking at you looking at me
there was an instant and then moving on
there was no evident fear
but no inclination to remain
there was a life lived at a different pace to mine
there was metabolic urgency
sure, I’d longed for that moment for decades
and I will recall you for many of your lifetimes
but you had no reason to remember me
and your interest was fleeting
in a being that could be nothing but a threat
Supermarket Sketch: Tune
“Sorry,” I say, the nose of my trolley
having grazed the side of hers.
“Sorry,” she counters, as if she had
any reason to proffer regret.
It’s like the hollow metallic clank of collision
triggers an apology reflex in us
or chimes the first note of some primeval tune
summoning us to dance an excuse-me.
AUTHOR BIO
Gordon Vells is a writer and translator from Dorset, England. His latest collection is Wasp Disentanglement for Beginners (Xenon Lobster Books, 2022), and he has recently had work published in And Other Poems, Ink Sweat & Tears and Flights.
JUDGE'S REMARKS

Poetry Judge
Allison Field Bell
Allison Field Bell is a multi-genre writer originally from northern California, but currently living in Utah.
MORE ABOUT ALLISON