Stephanie Stanton is a former science teacher, now teaching primary in a Medway school. Fairly new to writing poetry, she is an enthusiastic member of the mid-Kent Stanza group, occasionally performing at various open mic venues and has recently had a poem published in The Curlew.
Before the First Bite
From beneath grey tarpaulin
perched on upturned crates
we push back our hoods
and inspect the fruit
both breathless. I was certain
we were lost forever, enchanted by
endless rows of jewelled giants until
we stumble upon the treacherous
ladders of our mothers. Harvest for them
is serious work; reaching precariously
stretching income. Neither can pick
the greater nuisance – us or the weather
The rustles, creaks and squeaks of our
waterproofs chatter sporadically
with the torrent as our tiny fingers chase
rain futilely from blushing contours
writhing at the cold trickles worming across
skin, growing branch-like tributaries under
gathered cuffs. Nowhere sees escape from
the damp.
We raise apples to wide mouths.
Stephanie Stanton