The poem I want to share today is the first one in Ruth Padel’s The Soho Leopard – the book is split into four sections:
- The Tangled Bank
- The King’s Cross Foxes
- Sex, Scars and Alligators
- Nights of the Dry Monsoon
This poem is actually not in any of these sections – it’s at the start on its own. It’s also very dissimilar to all the other poems. To the point that, having read this one (and paused afterwards, as I tend to at the start of any book of poetry) – I was then (unfairly) disappointed by the rest of the book.
You can read it here: http://www.jeanettewinterson.com/pages/content/index.asp?PageID=279
I think what I like about this is the listiness which is reminiscent of Carol Ann Duffy (whose poetry I love), and the internal rhymes (saved, glaze, jade, paid, fade). Apparently it was inspired by George Herbert’s Prayer.
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