Malcolm Carson
Chomrong
As from the forest floor
the song breaks into bud,
slow, certain in the night air.
It runs from a single voice
and webs the throats
of the gathered throng,
surges into bloom,
pulsed by drummers.
From their midst a dancer emerges,
orchidaceous,
salutes the audience
then dances with the elegance of petals
demure, each movement
as sinuous as the turn of song.
Outrageous then the cock of the walk
who stomps around her
parodying her sweet restraint,
a rampant Chauntecleer,
hat skew-whiff, acrobatic
in his carnival, his burlesque of mating.
And like the maid enticed
but not submitting
she dances on, sublime,
her eyes and movement
seemingly untouched
yet knowing all too well
the part she’d play
in life’s longer dance.
—————————————————————————————————————-
Malcolm Carson was born in Lincolnshire. He moved to Belfast with his family before returning to Lincolnshire, becoming an auctioneer and then a farm labourer. He studied English at Nottingham University, and then taught in colleges and universities. When in Lincolnshire he edited the regional literary magazine Proof and organised several series of readings featuring leading poets. He now lives in Carlisle with his wife and three sons. He was a founder of Border Poets which has run several series of readings in the past few years with an emphasis on small presses. He has reviewed for Other Poetry and Critical Survey. Breccia, his first full-length collection, was published by Shoestring Press in 2007, followed by Rangi Changi and other poems (also from Shoestring Press) in 2010. He is a co-editor of Other Poetry.
