New Poetry by Colin Dardis

Sacrament and Ablution

To say retreat would be too trite. I lay myself

down in the tiled hollow of this kitchen,

birthplace to so many thoughts and hot goods.

I rest my worries on the windowsill,

only pick them back up when they are cool

enough to eat. There’s a confirmation in baking, 

where flesh is fresh and put to use; where time

is stopped in the mixing bowl and death

is reduced on the pan. There’s a baptism every time

I turn on the kitchen tap: all the spots wash off

while I breathe a little more, confident

in the day’s absolute promise.

- © Colin Dardis 2022

Colin Dardis is a neurodivergent poet, editor and sound artist from Northern Ireland. His latest book is All This Light In Which To See The Dead: Pandemic Journals 2020-21 (Rancid Idols Productions, 2022). A new collection, Apocrypha: Collected Early Poems, will be published in 2022 by Cyberwit.