‘the long bench’ – a new poem by Jim Carruth
16 April 2020
Jim Carruth is one of the founders and current chair of St Mungo’s Mirrorball, a network of Glasgow-based poets, and is the artistic adviser for StAnza: Scotland’s International Poetry Festival. In 2014, he became Glasgow’s Poet Laureate. When not in poet mode, he works for the NHS. We’re delighted he’s shared with us the following poem.
the long bench
For the times ahead
when we will be
as if at either end
of the long bench
where distance kept
is love’s measure
and death dances
the space between
when words alone
are not enough
and queued memories
reach out to touch
let longing be a store
of nut and seed
that grows each day
in strange hibernation
readying for its end –
the sharing of the feast.
If you enjoyed this poem, you can find more poems by Jim Carruth on our website and you can listen to the podcast we recorded with him in 2017.