Poetry Magazine
Quickthorn
Don't bring haw into the house at night
or in any month with a red fruit in season
or when starlings bank against the light,
don't bring haw in. Don't give me reason
to think you have hidden haw about you.
Tucked in secret, may its thorn thwart you.
Plucked in blossom, powdered by your thumb,
I will smell it for the hum of haw is long,
its hold is low and lilting. If you bring
haw in, I will know you want me gone
to the fairies and their jilting. I will know
you want me buried in the deep green field
where god knows what is rotting.
Source: Poetry (December 2007).
Biography
Poet Siobhán Campbell is the author of numerous pamphlets and collections of poetry, including The Permanent Wave (1996), The Cold that Burns (2000), That Water Speaks in Tongues (2008), Darwin Among the Machines (2009), and Cross-Talk (2009), which explores Ireland in the aftermath of its turbulent peace process. Originally from Ireland, Campbell has lectured in the MA and MFA programs at Kingston University.
Poem Categorization
SUBJECT Relationships, Home Life, Mythology & Folklore, Horror
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