Wintering

as though spring will come
festooned and full of itself,
thaw the roots of me —

the truth of sunlight
placates my sub-surface wait,
the snug of the earth

around my spud-shaped waist,
where starred hands shoot
incubated by moods,

the mulch of trodden things.
The worms I learn
are responsible for leaves’

vain disappearance,
the black gold I nuzzle
as though I’d be king.

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Patrick Wright has a poetry collection, Full Sight of Her (Eyewear), which was nominated for the John Pollard Prize. He has also been shortlisted for the Bridport Prize. His poems have appeared in Poetry Ireland Review, The North, Poetry Salzburg, Agenda, and London Magazine. His second collection, Exit Strategy, will be published by Broken Sleep Books in 2025.