About Text Size: larger | normal | smaller
Likestarlings is a place for talking in poems. We pair poets with poets and they write a sequence of six new works by responding in turn to one another. Our palaver blog goes beyond poetry to discuss collaboration in theory and in practice. Please take a look, and feel free to add comments, opinions and suggestions here. Read poems here
 

Rituals involving plastic bags


The final one you’ve seen coming:
plastic bag more ordinary than the dead,
and the dead a better secret than the living.

Dog-walkers’ hands
should be cleaner than park
and park cleaner than dog;

at the mosque for your shoes
because you are more sacred than bag
and bag is cleaner than shoes;

for toiletries before take-off
as you are less transparent than plastic
and tweezers more dangerous as a secret.