Poetry: Selections from Lynn White

Resurrection

In search of a saviour

they look to the father

to forgive their sins.

But what of the sins

of the fathers

passing down

the family line

waiting for resurrection.

Who will forgive those sins?

First published in Poetica Review, Spring 2024

Dancer

I’d expected the aching muscles

and the sore, deformed feet,

expected 

that the applause would numb them

and hide them away temporarily.

But the expectations 

of the well dressed and well connected

lurking in the back stage shadows

waiting

to transport dreaming feet into a nightmare.

They were unexpected.

They were the low points,

the bass line when the music played.

First published in Alternate Route, Issue 8, October 2022

Keeping Up Appearances

I’ve always been somewhat vain

always creamed and combed,

groomed and preened

and wanted to look my best,

not a hair out of place.

Is such vanity sinful?

Maybe it is.

But vanity was not my crime.

My crime was committed

on the day the hair

escaped.

Just one hair 

out

of place.

But they saw it.

That was the crime

I died for.

First published in Live Wire, Spring 2024

Life After Death

Something has startled me 

where I thought I was safest,

where I thought I belonged,

so I will follow Whitman

in avoiding the still woods I loved

and the fields where I used to walk.

I won’t emerge from my home 

to meet my friends in the open spaces,

or hug them and share a coffee, 

there are no cafes anymore, in any case.

Even the ground has sickened.

The men in white suits spray disinfectant 

over streets and beaches to stem its diseased flow.

But still I’m alive to the sounds of spring

rising from the decay and death of winter.

Still I’m alive to the prospect of summer

when the fertilised ground shows the life

that death has bestowed on it and blooms.

First published in Blue Pepper, November 2 2021

Beauty Parlour

Step inside my parlour,

my pampering parlour

and you will be remade, 

reborn,

stroked 

and smoothed,

petted and prodded,

cosseted and curled,

given the attention you deserve

as well as a new face

and shiny new hair.

In Pampers Parlour we’ll recreate you

reboot your confidence

and give you a new chemistry

as we gloss your hair and lips.

As we shape your face

with new shadows and glows.

As we apply layer upon layer

of chemical shit topped by

nose retching fragrances.

You won’t know yourself when 

you step outside 

dolled up to perfection,

protected in your new mask.

And what then?

Will you go home 

and comb it all out

and wash it all off,

preferring, 

after all, 

the person,

with the old skin

and fresh air colour

to the new robotic doll.

The pampers product is 

designed to be disposable, 

after all.

Or will you keep it 

as long as you can..

Try not to move your new face.

Try not to upset your new hair.

Place a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign

on your forehead.

Keep it as long as you can.

Even if stinky and crusty,

you’ll still have your face on.

You feel 

so bland,

so pale,

so wan,

exposed

without it

on the journey back

to the beauty parlour.

First published in Weasel Press, Anthology of the Mad Ones, Feb 2016

Lynn White lives in north Wales. Her work is influenced by issues of social justice and events, places and people she has known or imagined. She is especially interested in exploring the boundaries of dream, fantasy and reality. She was shortlisted in the Theatre Cloud 'War Poetry for Today' competition and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net and a Rhysling Award.