Formerly an actress, Kate Firth is a voice coach based in Barcelona. She has had poems published in various anthologies and magazines. Passionate about poetry as an oral as well as written tradition, she has performed at Bristol, Cheltenham and Winchester poetry festivals.
The Yew Speaks On St Brigid’s Day
out-striding the storm
you step
under a fallen beech
bridging
two ridges in the gorge
over
a stream flowing from flooded field
to quagmire in the wood; rain water
stripping mud
from the stones
you stop
between its branches
an ancient yew holds open a hollow
-into this gap-
–you whisper a wish
half trusting heartwood
to soak up your hope with its sap
the crumpled face
in this thousand year trunk
turns
and tells you its blessing
– a shift and stretch in the season
the tug
of thin sun
to an invisible swelling of green
Kate Firth