Snippets and Snapshots V

"With a synchronised swivelling of necks
and a coughed silence, they welcome me in,
wincing as I order. Once I've sat down,
a soft hubbub resumes..."

from "Twenty Years Apart", The Knives of Villalejo (Eyewear Publishing, 2017)

Snippets and Snapshots IV

"I dozed in his cellar. He pulled me out

at a dinner once, and waited for her

while his taut fingers smudged my dusty neck.

He couldn't bear to keep me after that..."

from "Gran Reserva", The Knives of Villalejo (Eyewear Publishing, 2017)

Snippets and Snapshots III

"The vat of oil must haze the air,
the batter sticky but slick.
He pipes it gently through the nozzle.
Spatulas dance as it ripples
in ring after fizzing golden ring..."

from "Chocolate con churros", The Knives of Villalejo (Eyewear Publishing, 2017)

Snippets and Snapshots II

"Aprils come with garlic,/Junes with peas"

from "From Farnham to Villalejo", The Knives of Villalejo (Eyewear Publishing, 2017)

Snippets and Snapshots I

"...where hillsides lean on hillsides
and lilac clouds hint at cool dusk..."

from "El Castillo de Villalejo", The Knives of Villalejo (Eyewear Publishing, 2017)