A poem inspired by Miguel Hernandez and by the birth of my third grandson Oscar Luke Fellows.
Cradle Song
The air sings to you,
born in blood,
and you cry back;
first breath
cold in your body.
The blood is now your blood,
your mind is now your mind.
The phantoms we dance with in the night
sing you to sleep
Tim Fellows October 2021
In memory of Matilda Hooper (1884-1950), mother of James Ernest Hooper (1915-1935) and James William Hooper, my grandfather.
A true story.
An Inquest Into a Mining Death, 1935
The jury donated their fees to the mother
of the dead miner.
The words of the witnesses had hung
in the stale air, crushing and suffocating.
How he was in the wrong place
at the wrong time.
How the company was not at fault.
It was sad of course, but part of life.
Before they filed out into the soot-soaked streets
she made sure she thanked them all
for their sympathy and generosity.
Tim Fellows 2021
