Supper
Never before has she danced so well.
Now she stands before him, her feet bare,
Anklets lightly jangling,
Veils rasping with each gasp of breath,
Head bowed, submissive
Though inwardly she exults. The king, after-dinner expansive,
Says she can name her price
And, as instructed, she asks for his head.
On a charger, the story says.
From a Middle English word for a large flat dish
Used to carry a large joint of meat.
On a platter, we would have it.
Beverley Bie Brahic, from Against Gravity, Worple Press, 2005.
With thanks to Worple Press.
Sculpture by Colin Mallett.
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Published by Anthony Wilson
I am a lecturer, poet and writing tutor. I work in teacher and medical education at the University of Exeter. My anthology Lifesaving Poems was published by Bloodaxe Books in 2015. In 2012 I published Riddance (Worple Press), a collection of poems, and Love for Now (Impress Books), a memoir, about my experience of cancer. My most recent books are Deck Shoes (Impress Books, 2019), a book of prose memoir and criticism, and The Afterlife (Worple Press, 2019). In 2023 I will publish The Wind and the Rain, my sixth collection of poems, with Blue Diode Press. My current research project, with Sue Dymoke from Nottingham Trent University and funded by the Foyle Foundation, is Young Poets' Stories: https://youngpoetsstories.com/. This blog is archived by the British Library.
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Anthony Wilson 
Thank you, Anthony, for all your inspiring posts. A wise move. Time to recharge your batteries. Look after yourself. Jane š
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