Hilaire is co-author with Joolz Sparkes of London Undercurrents, published by Holland Park Press. She was poet-in-residence at Thrive Battersea in 2017, and has poems published in numerous magazines and in three anthologies from The Emma Press.
For the London Undercurrents blog:
Instructions for Fallow Times
First, aerate your soil.
Give it a good digging through.
Loosen clumps. Cast yourself
as earthworm.
Now zhuzh up your bed
with spadefuls of muck
dark as caviar
ripe as old cheese.
Next, fetch a rake
and roughly level the surface.
Find your rhythm in the scrape
and tug of to and fro.
Time now to sow the seed
you’ve kept tucked
behind your ear.
Bury it as deep as necessary.
Each seed will grow in its own way.
Some flourish with neglect. Others
demand whispered encouragement,
a counter-intuitive sunny aspect.
Decide early what matters most—
tending or reaping,
prize marrows or rambling roses.
Invite everyone to your harvest.
Hilaire
