John Newson

THE ART OF FIXING THE BROKEN THINGS

             It is as if

somebody
                                  dropped
her                       onto a stone


floor


and watched as
sections
of her scattered

from the epi-
centre,


and somebody                       else

collected
the shattered
fragments       and aligned

each          sharp          edge,

careful
to avoid
the cut,


and flooded        the joins
with gold,
gave strength
   to fragility,


and now
   I am frightened
because I want to hold her.

John Newson was born in Scarborough in 1983 and graduated from Manchester School of Architecture before retraining as a jeweler and gemologist. He now lives in Wiltshire, England, and enjoys spending time in the surrounding countryside with his wife and two children. His poems have appeared in multiple journals including The Lyric, The Moth, Hummingbird, Anima Poetry, and Allegro.