Postcards From Malthusia DAY EIGHTY-EIGHT: Cliff Yates

Dog

                                                                                                                                 

So many places shut: the off-licence, 

the butcher, the corner shop, even 

the telephone kiosk screwed shut.

Dog had come a long way, and now what?

 

But the cherry blossom, he noted,

looking up, for once, from the pavement, 

was particularly stunning this year;

maybe it was the same every year

 

but noticing it, his heart was lifted

and he decided not to be disappointed.

The journey had been arduous, the future 

was uncertain, but there is more to life, 

 

he reflected, cocking his leg against a letter box,

than a bowl of fruit on a table.

 

 

Cliff Yates has been publishing poetry since the 1980s. Collections include Henry’s Clock, winner of the Fenton Aldeburgh First Collection Prize and the Poetry Business Book & Pamphlet Competition, and, most recently, Jam (Smith|Doorstop, 2016).