Jackie Wills' 'Ale-Wife' from Woman's Head as Jug (Arc, 2013)

Ale-Wife


He turns on a gulp,
his mouth opening
once too often,

and I'm strum, venturer,
a night-worm
for his empty palm.

But this one talks to me
as if I'm a girl in a field
he rowed to under bridges

glimmering with a canal
stopped at midsummer.
He puts each coin

on the bar so carefully,
sliding me the gold of a day
he replays and replays.


Jackie Wills
Woman's Head as Jug
Arc, 2013


At the time of posting, Woman's Head as Jug is available from Foyle's Books for 30% off!