Guest Poem by Sue Wallace-Shaddad

Sue Wallace-Shaddad has an MA from Newcastle University/Poetry School London. She has two published pamphlets: Sleeping Under Clouds (Clayhanger Press, 2023) and A City Waking Up (Dempsey and Windle, 2020). Her poems have featured in Artemis, London Grip, The High Window, Fenland Poetry Journal, Ink, Sweat & Tears, Poetry Scotland among others. Sue writes regular poetry reviews. She is Secretary of Suffolk Poetry Society and digital writer-in-residence for The Charles Causley Trust’s blog The Maker. https://suewallaceshaddad.wordpress.com. This poem is from Acumen 109.

Twine

Lazing on the table
strung out with a casual loop
it could be someone’s noose
the knot ready to slip tighter
around a waiting neck
                                            but let’s be accurate
it’s green, made of jute
and will serve to tie back roses
bristling hairs catching on thorns
then again it could be something else
a joyous balloon caught in the wind
                                            tail streaming out behind.