Nightshade
by and published in Edition One of Pomegranate
He pictures swimming elephants,
reminded by the taste of it,
their stiff, grey bodies swallowed
in the cool, deep river.
They lift their trunks as snorkels
to the summer smell of India rubber
and when they come up, loud as his heartbeat,
water sloughs off their rough, vast backs;
black skins from sweltered berries,
in a dry mouth.
Laura Marsh
Laura Marsh is articles submissions editor. She was a Foyle Young Poet in 2005 and 2006, and was a runner-up in the Christopher Tower and a winner of the Rialto Young Poets competition both in 2007. She is currently in her third year at Oxford University, where she is reading English. She enjoys near-infallible lack of hand-eye coordination, Patrick Hamilton novels and very long walks in the countryside.