Writing by Magnus McDowall. Illustration by Polly Burnay.

Huckleberry drifters
In an upturned home
Of sodden matchsticks
Scurried from the coke of a city river-bed
Like midnight smog
And daily ditchwork swans.
We’ll stumble upon some snatched stability
With wrinkled toes
Kneading water
That never miss a moment.
They’ll curl and stretch
And reach for trailing willow-leaves
And we’ll strain our ears
For a home which stands
Beyond the river’s bend.