Andy Eycott

South East London, UK

Andy lives and works in South East London. He has been published in print and online. These include Obsessed With Pipework, Orbis, The Dawntreader, Poems in the Waiting Room, Sentinel Literary Quarterly and a number of anthologies. 

Two Poems -  Lost Days  

 poem completed 1st April 2020

Lost Days

The morning frost bows

to the sun ascending,

broad band of blue

lifting me in my isolation.

It is a glorious day

yet I must look, not touch.

On such a day I could walk

with loved ones in the park.

A papercut sting in my heart,

missing the warmth of his hug

I wait for the ping of my phone

for today’s photo of my grandson.

I wait eagerly for news 

around his teething,

wait to watch videos of him 

learning to walk, seeing him grow.

written on 16th May 2020 

8 weeks later

I remember kissing you 

a hundred times 

as I held you in my arms

and feeling a little foolish

at the thought of excess.

I remember justifying it

as a kiss for all the days

I wouldn’t get to hold you

as we entered the unknown,

an uncertain future.

Of course you knew nothing

of the excess or the lockdown.

That moment seems so long ago, 

before I dyed your Nanna’s hair,

before you could walk.

Now eight weeks on and 

social isolation remains

I rue that conservative number,

a thousand kisses wouldn’t

have been enough.