‘the long bench’ – a new poem by Jim Carruth

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.