This poem, by long-standing Kent & Sussex Poetry Society member Bob Spencer, was selected for publication in our 2019 Folio #73, having won joint third place in our annual members’ competition. Bob rears sheep at his farm in East Sussex – following one of the traditions our founder Vita Sackville West celebrated in her poetry.
Heating Oil
There are words
that say something
if you listen carefully
and inhale beneath
the surface
There are other words
that make no sense
whatsoever
however long you pretend
to listen
We’re nearly out
There are other words
and many of them
that say too much
even when
you’re not listening
All other words
are poems
or deserve to be
So I’ve just ordered some
