A Short Season of Other Poets: Katy Evans-Bush

No Strings

Let’s celebrate no
strings: those things
that tie you down,
bind you up,
attach you to
somebody who,
every time they move,
you jerk.
Let’s rejoice in no
knots tied: no eternity,
no double hitch; no
slip. No tangled webs,
no getting caught
in a loop,
nothing entwined.
When you talk
into your tin can, no one’s
at the other end.
There is no end
of the line, the rope.
No reins, no golden thread,
no tether, nobody
holding on,
or back, or forth,
or letting go.
No piece of ribbon,
no love letters,
nothing holding
your shoes together,
no moorings
or anchor, no leash,
no cord:
umbilical, silken,
or rip-

'No Strings' is an unpublished - until now! - poem from a poet friend of mine, Katy Evans-Bush, who has the rare distinction of being only the second poet ever to have stayed at my house for the weekend (and regretted it ever since, I imagine). (Since I know you're all itching to ask, the first ever poet to have stayed with me for the weekend was Peter Mortimer, of Iron Press fame, and he definitely regretted it!)

That's the cover of her debut poetry collection, Me and the Dead, above.

Born in New York City, no less, Katy has lived in London since she was 19. Her poetry and essays have been published on both sides of the Atlantic. She is a regular contributor to the Contemporary Poetry Review and writes the literary blog Baroque in Hackney. Her debut poetry collection, Me and the Dead, is published by Salt.

Katy E-B opens A Short Season of Other Poets on Raw Light. Other poets to be featured will remain a secret. Come back regularly to see who else will appear on these pages. Another poet - and poem - to follow very shortly!