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City of Swifts by Penny Blackburn


The city of swifts, where we walked
crook-footed over cobbled mosaics,
eyed flickering geckos on sun-flecked walls;
lay silent under the crisp cotton sheet
side by side in the heat, untouching;
swam in shallow water as the sun
made tortoise-backed patterns
on the shifting sea bed.

We were so thoroughly
unprepared
for what came next.

---

Penny Blackburn lives in the North East of England and writes poetry and short fiction. Her publications include pieces online in Bangor Literary Journal, Atrium and Ink, Sweat & Tears and in print with Paper Swans Press, Reader’s Digest and Maytree Press.
She is on Twitter and Facebook as @penbee8 and on Instagram as penny.blackburn.5.


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