What are you carrying

through this arcade?

Here, you are sheltered, so

consider:

 

a broken heart,

or a heart with wings;

a burden

or a treasure?

 

And you yourself, a gift,

passing the shop-fronts, reflected,

are you one of the everyday magi

threading the city

with the myrrh of compassion,

the perfume of hope

and the gold you’ve refined from sharp sorrow?

 

What are you carrying

through this arcade?

 

What do you want to lay down

or take up?

 

What is it carries you

through this arcade?

 

Angela Graham is from Belfast.  She has had a successful career in Wales as a producer in TV and film. She now lives in Wales and N. Ireland. Her collection of poetry, Sanctuary: There Must Be Somewhere was published by Seren Books in 2022. Her short story collection A City Burning came out in 2020 and was longlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize. 

You can read another new poem by Angela on our site on December 28th. You can also read a new short story by Angela Graham in Issue 14 of The Lonely Crowd.