Bird | Recipe for Eggshells

By Camille McCawley

Bird

Christmas work party

Boss too close for comfort

hanging vulture

hoping the vulnerable

will lose their way.

Mince pies

carpet crumbs underfoot

fairy lights flickering

unwanted wine lips

on wanted goodbyes.

I escape to Yorkshire

try to fathom endearing terms

like love and duck 

meant with genuine compassion

whether they know you or not.

Where I'm from bird is an insult

translates to piece of meat.

I find life in studying

8am, waiting for a taxi to campus

mumbling half-formed sentences.

A man cycles past

strong as an eagle

wingspan shadows the road.

Peering over shoulder

he looks me dead in the eyes

ooo I'd fuck you

I get dressed for work

sun creeping into curtains

ready for a day making beds.

I walk down the High Street

sweepers clear the night's remains

Builders leer over scaffolding

crows lined up

silhouettes in the sunrise

squawking

walk of shame!

Packed pub of mates

only drunken remain

ashtrays full to brim

empties cover table tops

hugging pints to hearts.

A hand

grabs my arse

heavyI own you kind

I turn to a mouthful

of peacock feathers.

He asks to wear my hat

I say he has

taken enough

You have all taken too much.

He shrinks into himself

shrivelled baby bird body

I peal wings off predators

take the name Bird

and fly with it.

Recipe for Eggshells

Serve dinner daily at 7pm.

Align ingredients like Nigella would.

Channel your Domestic Goddess

to his will.

Slice map routes into pepper.

Follow coordinates not instinct,

this is not an adventure.

Add garlic, only when onion is translucent.

Add chilli, only once his beer has the perfect head.

Quorn is sinner’s atonement,

do not be tempted to include gelatine.

Even the smallest amount obliterates morals.

Add chopped tomatoes.

Heat mixture to a bubble.

Clamp arm to wooden spoon, stir continuously

until arm melts into mixture

Fists crater walls into meringue,

plasterboard taste.

Dessert is a gift for the deserved.

Cook to the beat of scratched CDs on repeat.

Wash lettuce with warm worries,

season with gritted teeth.

Serve dinner daily at 7pm.

Always have backup timers ready,

heavy storms disrupt sundials.

Camille is a British poet currently working on her upcoming Chapbook due to be released in 2021. She will have two poems included in World Jam's pandemic anthology. She won the Project Hope and Hidden Voices competition for National Poetry Day and is a multiple slam champion. She has featured at numerous events and festivals across the UK. She has also supported spoken word poets Joelle Taylor, Matt Abbott, Leanne Moden, and The Unsung with Genevieve Carver. Her poems have appeared on BBC Radio Sheffield and Derby. Her day job is as Development Manager for the charity FareShare Midlands, where they redistribute surplus food to those in need. IG / FB: @camille.poet