Developments
By Ella Jeffery
Published 1 January 2021
That summer everything smacked
of tax write-off—men came to unslump
the sunstruck fence, rolled tarp-grey
carpet down the hall, but left
the wasp nests that hung like black bells
by the back door. We’d never seen
the landlord’s face but knew he meant
to raise the rent. Most nights we debated
in the fanless bedroom: move, loan, tiny
home. Then, as February torched
our nerves, came his offer: six-month lease,
no option to extend. Next door’s spaniel
napped in its kennel with ducted AC.
Across the road they drafted luxe revisions
to Le Corbusier’s machines, earmarked
kerbs for metered parking. They winched
in eco-glazing the day we conceded
our signatures to the digital lease: enough
to keep the place a few more weeks.
Write a poem about a piece of art, film or music that you find strangely compelling, for reasons you don’t fully understand.
Ella Jeffery
#30in30 writing prompt
Poetry, for me, is about the pleasures of rigour and surprise. Whether reading or writing poetry, in a good poem I encounter something – an image, a place, a voice, anything – that I didn’t expect. I have an experience that is strange and sharp and utterly clear.
Ella Jeffery
#30in30 #PoetryMonth
