Muse of the Month by Chris Hemingway

‘Muse of the Month’,
the advert read.
‘In twenty one instalments,
Just two pounds a time.’
Though there may have been an asterix,
I know small print 
has my interests at heart.

‘You’ll be the envy of your friends and family
as we send you stimulating artefacts,
expertly sourced from around the globe.
Guaranteed, a poem in every parcel.’

I haven’t looked back, 
Package after package,
Etruscan pottery, 
Sumerian costume jewellery, 
left with all my neighbours,
propped against cold frames and wheelie bins.
So far I’ve written nothing,
but I fit it all in.
Even this huge stone totem.
It’d make a great uplighter.
I’ll call it my writer’s block.

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Chris Hemingway lives and works in Gloucestershire. His first pamphlet “Party in the Diaryhouse” was published by Picaroon Poetry in 2018, and he has self-published three collections: “Cigarettes and  Daffodils” (2012), “The Future” (2015) and “Who Lied About the Mermaid’s Ghost” (2019). 

 

Chris has worked as a volunteer for Cheltenham Poetry Festival and Gloucestershire Writers’ Network, and regularly reads for Ashmolean Poetry Tours. He can be contacted via chrishemingwaytmepoetry.com, Facebook or via his Twitter handle, @chemingway586.