Bio
Damaris West trained in Romance languages but loves all poetic language. After living in Italy for thirteen years, she moved to Scotland. Author of three published novels, her poetry has appeared recently in Writers' Magazine, Stanza Poetry's Map of Scotland, The Poetry Kit's plague year anthology, and Snakeskin. Her website is: damariswest.com.
Damaris West
Persimmons
They were still clinging in the snow:
Baubles on a twig Christmas tree,
Jack-o'-lanterns without faces,
Bright as the street oranges of Seville.
You told me I should be prepared
For the 'kaki experience'. They would be
Super-sweet, jam-like, drip off the spoon,
But I couldn't countenance that gloopy
Texture and didn't understand the point
Of seeking them preciously among their leaves
Like griffins' eggs, except maybe to stop them
Splattering to slippy wadges underfoot.
A treat foregone through prejudice, you thought.
But the sight was otherworldly: so many
Suns dipping with a last golden flare
Into the dark rotation of the earth.