Mslexia

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New Writing

If they cut her open, she liked to say,
they would find the music of Bach
running through her bones
like letters through a stick
of rock: from the top
of her skull
to the distal
phalanx of her little toe,
each bone would play its part
in the fugue that would ensue:

in particular the ribs would sing out
in a cathedral of arches
over the font of her hip-bones,
and the resolution
of harmonious notes
escaping
would be found in the sigh
that filled the silence
round the operating table
after.

ROSEMARY WAGNER had a poem shortlisted for the Bridport Prize 2009, was previously published in The Poetry Society’s The Voice of Youth journal and has had poetry featured in Weyfarers magazine. She has written poetry since the age of 15, and studied modern languages in order to read foreign poems in their original form. She aspires to get a poem included in a well-loved anthology but frequently finds she is drawn away from the page by her love of exploring the Surrey hills. She embraces the Buddhist philosophy of life but remains motivated to develop her writing.

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