for Charlotte A betrayal of trembling leaves and blossoms yet unseen toward sunset, a scarlet fluttering among Missouri currant, lilac, columbine, bee larkspur, wild bergamot, Oswego tea. Drunk on honey left by sated bees, a mist of flitting wings about the clover meadows, she goes, and he follows until the very last twilight. This humming is in living on the wing, in the never-alighting, adrift on a perfect sea of flowers, unfettered as blossoms on the Western Prairies, a quiver of eternal spring.
Paul atten Ash
Paul atten Ash is the pen name of Worcester-born poet Paul Nash, who lives in the West Country with his family. His poetry has been published by Boudicca Press, Bristol 24/7, Deep Adaptation Forum, Envoi, Ginkgo Prize, International Library of Poetry (ILP), Luain Press, Oscillations, Poetry School, Raw Edge, Tandem, the6ress, Tiny Seed, Understanding, and Visual Verse. His poem ‘Eryri’ was shortlisted in the Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty ‘Best Poem of Landscape’ category of the Ginkgo Prize 2021, as selected by the National Association for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in partnership with Poetry School; and his poem ‘Tsunami’ won the ILP International Open Amateur Poetry Contest 1999 (Grand Prize Winner). His work has been published in various anthologies, including: Ta DADA (the6ress, 2023), The National Association for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty: Best Poem of Landscape Prize Anthology 2021 (National Association for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, 2022); United for Ukraine (Boudicca Press, 2022); Songs of Senses (ILP); and Memories of the Millennium (ILP).