November 4th Fiona Benson

Wednesday November 4th
Tonight I reread some of Fiona Benson's Faber New Poets pamphlet.
Fiona was the first Faber New Poet.

I love Caveat and read it in a workshop yesterday.

                        Caveat

                        But consider the cactus:

                        its thick hide

                        and parched aspect

                        still harbour a moist heart;

                        nick its rind and sap

                        wells up like sugared milk

                        from the store of water

                        held beneath its spines,

                        its armoury of barbs

                        and, once in a lifetime,

                        when the hard rains fall

                        there is this halo of flowers.