04 Claudia Volpe and Tyree Daye

Welcome to the fourth episode of Dickens and Quips!

                                                                                         This week we have Claudia Volpe on the show and I shall be reading from River Hymns by Tyree Daye..

Find Claudia at Claudia Volpe on Facebook

@_claudnine_ on Instagram

We are at

Twitter: @dickensandquips

Instagram: @dickensandquips

Email: [email protected]

Prompt for this week is "chicken" and you don't have to be an established poet to submit a poem.

Featured poems:

I Like It Like That

You turned the lights off

saying you like it like that

and I wonder

what’s there to like

if I don’t see what

I’m touching,

kissing,

holding,

if I don’t see where my skin ends and yours begins

and I can’t connect the dots on your stomach,

then how do I know

what’s my favourite constellation

to spot when we lay together

in this private garden

of pillows

and blankets

and more pillows because

you like it like that.

You said

You want your body on a soft cloud

to follow your head

all the times it goes up there

and doesn’t come down any more;

You said

it’s so far you can never reach it,

always an inch away from your grasp,

from your heart,

From all the do’s and the don’ts

And all the pros and cons lists you make -

Hanging around your room

because you like it like that.

You said

they remind you of every decision you had to face,

of what’s best for you

but hurting others;

and happiness has a price

sometimes -

But, darling -

I like it like that.

I say

I’m ready to pay any price

for your happiness

and your lists

and your clouded head

and the pillows where you rest your face at night

and the blankets we hide under

I say

Leave on all the lights,

Because I like it like that.

I say

I want to see the curve of your smile

Right before I hold your face,

kiss your freckles,

touch every single inch of you,

and make you

my everlasting supernova.

Claudia Volpe

She Tells Her Love

She tells her love while half asleep,

In the dark hours,

With half-words whispered low:

As Earth stirs in her winter sleep

And put out grass and flowers

Despite the snow,

Despite the falling snow.

Robert Graves

Chicken and Bun 

After Tyree Daye 

“chop the chicken, 

just so”. My auntie Veronica 

said the bones added to  

the flavour. 

When she died, I  

could only ever 

picture her in 

sunday gloves and hat. 

Until I cooked her curry. 

I remembered 

the way the sun reflected 

off the strands of hair 

fighting to stay 

in the tight bun at the nape 

of her neck. 

The way her hands 

wafted steam from  

burned sugar and tomato 

towards us. 

How much pepper 

we needed, a whispered secret. 

I remember her laugh  

was a waterfall, 

a river, 

a splash of water on 

hot oil. 

Dee Dickens

River Hymns and more information about Tyree Daye

Prompt for this week is Fire Extinguisher