Noel Williams is quite widely published in the UK and has won his share of prizes. He is editor of Antiphon magazine (antiphon.org.uk) and Associate Editor of Orbis. He's Resident Artist at the Bank St Arts Centre in Sheffield, and lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University. His collection "Out of Breath" will be published by Cinnamon Press in March 2014. Website: http://noelwilliams.wordpress.com/

Noel Williams

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Your move

Lower the gunsight, doublepark the tank,
scramble from the cockpit, unstitch the flag,
strip steel from the battleship,
melt brass shells into the sea,
unwind the bandage to threads of flax,
desert the wounded, sneak loot
into the pockets of the dead,
melt daggers to spoons,
unbuild the castle to impregnate new hills,
grow trees out of chariots,
unbend the bow, set the horses wild,
splice withies to willow,
seal flowers with seeds,
kiss the dead alive,
squeeze lightning under a stone,
agree to share the stars.