a collection of somewhat related love letters and poems titled ‘stargazing in an earthquake’
Jacob Ditchfield
pluto
all that is well is splitting at the seams
i’m upside down and above the ground, can’t you see?
mother whisked away in pluto’s chariot
he left behind his sceptre and his keys
make pristine your peace with me
at her headstone, a ghostly garden buried
her name marked in black liquor
under sultry moonlight, warm and honeyed
‘‘tis all a part of the plan’
the worlds fall apart between my crooked teeth
heartstrings frayed and violent at the edges
from grapes and sourdough to pomegranate seeds
but how candescent her spirit was on a starless night!
an angel harpooned from the heavens
now all that is left for her daughter is
a passed mother’s perfume
the vial shattered on my bathroom floor
watch her final elixir bleed and bleed out
until all her scent has drifted away
and the dappled tiles stain sickly sweet
i am still a child / carry me to bed
in my wallet in my jeans
they say it’s very beautiful over there
your contrary heart will be safe with me
spiderwebs
your eyes are hasty and wanting
upon the fiddle leaf fig in our bedroom
obsessed with its nurture and dress
its wiry frame has all but consumed you
‘come lay for a while’ in your heart
caress me, your comely festoon
i’m splayed out on the kitchen floor
you light a cigarette and sing a drunken tune
you are the summer shower
your kisses are tender, almost kind
you are a terrible storm
undying and tainted in my mind
i’ve been spinning all around you
like spiderwebs before the dawn
legs tangled between sullied sheets
your hands are too heavy to mourn
my eyes are cloudy like apple juice
swimming in the pool of your whiskey
yet you are not dignified nor refined
you were found out in a rusted flask (kiss me)
i am so adored by you
i’ve never been so in love
my makeup runs and these apples are bruised
my tears are almost always never sometimes enough
cinnamon
My dear, I couldn’t help but notice
how rather out of sorts you’ve been as of late
Tell me, how is an empty cocoon
so heavy and hulking amongst the poppies
aching in a sea of wildflowers so gentle they take your breath away
Now you’re falling asleep in the car,
warm fingertips on your neck,
soothed closer and closer to a long goodnight
Cinnamon sticks melted down into that faraway concoction
seeping softly through your veins
I must go now, but not before I tell you how
the vast plains of the universe,
with all its bloodied moons and anxious stars
couldn’t stretch far enough to contain
all my affections for you
Nor the deepest of blackholes
could swallow the violet sunrise
that awakens in my heart every day you come around
My dear, we are just stargazing in an earthquake
Watch how the comets fall for you
whilst I pray for the daffodils to spring between our fingertips
CORDUROY
There’s a bee sitting on me
and a pocket in your corduroy jeans
Oh, wouldn’t you like to know
just how deep the rabbit hole goes
I was spiralling, now I’m climbing
A picnic for an old friend
is helping this wilted heart to mend
I’m exhaling for the first time
in a long time
This is my excavation
and Vernon is thy minister
Ouch, i’m sitting on a bee!
Bees are shy and sweet
They cater the clovers evergreen
where the poppies used to sell to me
I’m wearing all corduroy
and it’s all perfect as far as i can see
Jacob Ditchfield is a Macquarie University student with a passion for creative writing. Growing up on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Jacob enjoys playing guitar and reading young adult and romance fiction. His creative writing major work was long listed for the Macquarie Future Leaders Writing Prize.
