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The Staircase of Knives
Emma Lee
The only thing that's regular
is that there are two on each stair,
one at either end. She has to thread
her way past these kitchen knives
stabbed into the white-painted treads
to get to bed. She has to tip-toe:
if disturbed they will invade
her dreams and sharpen her nerves.
They are not the most chilling
thing in the photo posted by police.
That honour goes to the bullet.
Against the stark white,
its tip points to a blank wall.
This is someone's home,
"a place where one lives,
especially as part of a family."
Note: this poem was inspired by this tweet by Insp Jack Rowlands of the Metropolitan Police: https://twitter.com/earlyyearscop/status/844253044938280963
Emma Lee’s most recent publication is Ghosts in the Desert (Indigo Dreams, 2015). She co-edited Over Land, Over Sea: poems for those seeking refuge (Five Leaves, 2015) and Welcome to Leicester (Dahlia Publishing, 2016). She blogs at http://emmalee1.wordpress.com and reviews for The High Window Journal, The Journal and London Grip.
Well Versed is edited by Jody Porter (wveditor@gmail.com)
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