Summer 2004

Summer 2004

Martin Stannard HER CLOTHES 1. It was a very enlightening garment. Sunlight dripped like water off the hem as she walked away from him. 2. She appeared in the doorway in the raiment of a queen out of folklore. Hm, he thought, she didn’t get that at the H&M sale. 3. One wardrobe wasn’t going to be enough. He knew that before she moved in. 4. The word garb, meaning dress or clothing, stems from the Italian garbo, meaning grace. At least, that’s what she said when he said something about her being got up in some flash garb. 5. She insisted upon calling it a robe. He thought it was just some old thing she threw on when she got out of bed. But they didn’t argue about it. Not out loud. 6. He considered it inappropriate attire for a visit to the osteopath. But he wasn’t quite sure what an osteopath was, which kind of undermined his confidence so he kept his opinion to himself. 7. Once upon a time he would follow her into the fitting rooms even if she was only pretending to try on a garter. But now he stayed home and watched the football.   Martin Stannard lives in Nottingham, England, and has been publishing poetry since the late 1970s. His most recent books are “Difficulties and Exultations” (Smith/Doorstop, 2001) and Writing Down the Days: New & Selected Poems (Stride, 2001). Stride have also published a book of his criticism: “Conversations With Myself - Selected Reviews & Notes, 1984-1988”. Leafe Press is to publish “Coral” in the Autumn of 2004.

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