Nursery Crime by Andrea Ward

Ring a wrong of jangle keys
a pocketful of dearth

Four and twenty blackbirds
chime havoc in the heart

Shrink the heart with shaming
Make it keep account

Twist the song to locking
Pluck the clockwork out

Purse the savage silence
Stitch the gaping mouth

For if the throat should open
if the captive sing

then infinitude of blackbirds
terror taking wing.

From: https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/hennessy-new-irish-writing-november-2018-winning-poems-by-audrey-molloy-and-andrea-ward-1.3699057

Date: 2018

By: Andrea Ward (19??- )