Guest Poem by Helen Ashley

Helen Ashley lives in Torbay, Devon, where she is involved in poetry appreciation groups in Paignton and Brixham. Her Acumen pamphlet, Ways of Saying, was published in 2010. She has also had poems published in several anthologies, and in magazines. She has been shortlisted in several competitions and is currently compiling her first full collection. This poem is from Acumen 112.

On Stage

Small spillages of light
are gathered on the woodland floor.
Invisible strings tie them
to the matrix of branches above.

Sun, looking down through the canopy,
has assembled them and stands
as director, while a light breeze
takes on the choreography.

To their orders, the puppeteer-twigs
lift, lower, turn and twitch unseen cords.

And the light pools dance:
solos, duos, groups join and part,
fluidity of flicker and ripple
brightens the dark earth

until a cloud curtain is drawn
across their source, closes
the performance, leaves
the stage bare until the next show.