Three Tarot poems

(with thanks to Miriam Nash)

The Fool

Step into the filigree 

shadows of winter trees.

Jump the muddy bank.

Feel the leash strain 

and break.

Don’t look back.


The Empress

Give me a sky the colour

of beetroot, a constellation 

of spilt breadcrumbs.


Cuticle moon watch me dance

across this oil-dark night 

with my petticoat of planets

and comets in my hair. 


Give me a sky the colour 

of beetroot, blood a thin seam 

running down my thigh.

The Moon

Bring me a stick fallen 

from the silver birch.

Draw a circle 

in wet brown mud. 

Yelp and crow until

your sad throat splits 

and cave creatures crawl 

from the bog of your belly,

curl at your feet. Sleep

on the soft damp turf.