Ladybirds

Once upon an English summer
The ladybirds inhabited my cupboard,
A single wooden locker
Scantily speckled with 10p tins,
Musty grains and 70 proof liquor.
“Accommodate them”,
The platitudes of the past spoke to me
“You’re now in their territory.”

Once upon an English summer,
In my pursuit of diligence
I set out a few strawberries
For those that colonised
The rest of my sustenance.
“It is better to bend
Than to break and end”

Once upon an English summer
My skin prickled and crawled.
The ladybirds lay claim on me
Each of their own accord
“Sacrifice is nature,
What we just learn to nurture”

Once upon an English summer
I vomited green speckled with red
The metamorphosis was done.
They were the space in which I existed.
“Be like the potter’s water
Not the fuller’s earth”

Once upon an English summer
I’d wear submission’s crimson habit
At other’s behest.
But I’m naked in the garden now
Burying the past with its pests.

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