Amore ti amo – daubed
in red paint on a pillar of the underpass.

Muscled with snowmelt, the green river
roils through violets.

Goats are jangling twelve abreast
along the road.

Duckling-fluff mimosa
powder-puffs against blue sky.

A van is selling nothing but oranges.
Old men are laughing on a bench

outside the pharmacy,
walking sticks between their knees.

An unseen hand closes a shutter.
Children’s voices clamour

from the cavern of a doorway
where a woman sits

in sunshine
embroidering flowers.

Damaris West lives near the sea in south-west Scotland. Her poetry has appeared widely in such publications as The Lake, Blue Unicorn, Stone Circle Review, Ink Sweat & Tears and The Friday Poem, and has been placed in a number of competitions, both national and international. She is currently preparing a first co lection to be published by Yaffle Press. https://damariswest.site123.me