Sophie Hannah

The Pros and Cons

He’ll be pleased if I phone to ask him how he is. It will make me look considerate and he likes considerate people. He’ll be reassured to see that I haven’t lost interest, Which

He has slept with accountants and brokers, With a cowgirl (well, someone from Healds). He has slept with non-smokers and smokers In commercial and cultural fields. He has slept with book-keepers, book-binders, Slept with

Long For This World

I settle for less than snow, Try to go gracefully like seasons go Which will regain their ground – Ditch, hill and field – when a new year comes round. Now I know everything:

Your Dad Did What?

Where they have been, if they have been away, Or what they’ve done at home, if they have not – You make them write about the holiday. One writes My Dad did. What? Your

The Norbert Dentressangle Van

I heave my morning like a sack Of signs that don’t appear, Say August, August, takes me back… That it was not this year… Say greenness, greenness, that’s the link… That they were different

Leaving and Leaving You

When I leave you postcode and your commuting station, When I left undone all the things we planned to do You may feel you have been left by association But there is leaving and

Symptoms

Although you have given me a stomach upset, Weak knees, a lurching heart, a fuzzy brain, A high-pitched laugh, a monumental phone bill, A feeling of unworthiness, sharp pain When you are somewhere else,

The During Months

Like summer in some countries and like rain In mine, for nuns like God, for drunks like beer, Like food for chefs, for invalids like pain, You’ve occupied a large part of the year.

Rondeau Redoublé

I know the rules and hear myself agree Not to invest beyond this one night stand. I know your patter: in, out, like the sea. The sharp north wind must blow away the sand.