Sasha Smith

Branches (elegy for Lavinia)

we will grow back into trees in better days,

my brothers and I

a funeral orchard

for you to pluck us again and again and again

but still not ripe enough

how could i be all you ever wanted

and still disappoint you?

I ate the lies you planted in my throat

and they cut out the rot

I will live in a body that does not bleed

these branches

will grow blossoms

that wave in the wind,

and no one will take these flowers

not even the winter

home is not a single place

it’s twilight

and you’ve crossed an ocean just to feel

homesick

an imitation of home 

built in your back garden

blow up paddling pools and sparklers

to build a road back to you

we eat burgers and potato faces

toast s'mores and tealights

on the tips of

our lighters

dusk forges a bond between us

leaving cannot break

the darkness drowns

our existence in the reflection

of the setting sun

floating on by

cut up opheliac flowers 

hearts laid bare

here is to burning

to light the way home

lavender

i’ve never seen a ghost

but i imagine they should smell of lavender

like falling asleep forever

i miss London and the life i built there

the cram of chaotic busy

lives pushed against each other

i know that somewhere out there

is a lavender ghost impression of me

riding the tube

and she’s happy

I use my poetry to explore themes of the female body and our ideas of what home is, and what it means to us. The first poem ‘Branches’ explores the character of Lavinia from Shakespeare’s ‘Titus Andronicus’ and the torture she is put through by the men in her life. My second poem ‘home is not a single place’ explores one of my favourite memories of a university friend who came from America, and hosted a 4th July party to share her culture with us. My last poem, ‘lavender’ explores the feelings of homesickness I’ve been feeling lately for the life I lived at university and living in London.

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Written by Sasha Smith

Sasha is a 22 year old writer from South Wales who likes buying books that she'll never get around to reading and is known for wearing the orange velvet scarf she stole from her mum. You can catch up with her poetry at @sashayawaypoetry on instagram.