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POETRY IN THE PLAGUE YEAR

Poems written during the Coronavirus Outbreak 2020

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Geoffrey Winch

    

Felpham, UK

 

 

Geoffrey Winch is an active member of a number of creative writing groups in West Sussex where he has lived since 2001.  In 1992 his poetry has first appeared in a small press anthology, and has since appeared regularly in journals and anthologies in the UK, US and online. Purple Patch magazine awarded him the accolade of ‘The UK’s Best Small Press Poet’ in 2011. He is the author of six collections – the most recent being West Abutment Mirror Images (Original Plus, 2017) and Velocities and Drifts of Winds (Dempsey and Windle, 2020).  In 2020 he was nominated for the Forward Prize for the Best Single Poem.

 

Date Poem Completed:  23rd December 2020

 

 

Exploded View

 

the flywheel has been loosed

and nothing seems to

stop it spinning

 

connecting rods

all at loose ends 

not connecting anymore

 

pistons poised

but incapable of taking 

positive action

 

sealing gaskets

under pressure

all unsealed

  

meshing wheels left unoiled

no longer turn to  

finely-tuned rhythms

 

timing chain

having lost traction

lacking sense of time 

 

valves uncertain

where they need to be

neither open or closed 

 

here is our engine

its bare essentials

all exposed