'Matchstick house'

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.