A tortured soul once stood above me
Cloaked in darkness
He was weighed down by the rain 
And trapped within the confines of a racecourse

His anonymous gaze 
And infected smile
Inspired spite
Nothing but chalk and teeth
But, for what does he scream for?
Perhaps, the pretence of a peaceful nation?
Or the ecstasy of affluence?
What untold violence can his indifference inflict?
Upon the child of a revolution
And the son of a failed man

Long before a lover fell from the sky
And drank himself to death
A gunshot rang out,
the bullet bounced 
And a crucifix was raised above his bedpost
Hidden in plain sight
But Mother, she cannot be fooled 

His only prayer can be heard at dawn
Once the bars have shut
And the money has run out
He cries
Mary do not lend me your ear 
Lend me your stockings
Bind my ankles
And prick my skin

This devil’s chant
Cannot shelter him from the cold
But the itch of hay beneath him 
And the touch of another’s flesh 
Although it is brief
And rushed
And holy unsatisfying 
It burns molten hot
His blood could have out run a river
Flooding his cheeks in rose
Spilling wine upon his chest
Only to be abandoned
As effortlessly as breathing

Is this man appearing?
Emerging from a bunker, mouth agape
A witness to mass extinction
To bodies clapping
Oblivious to the suffering
Of his beloved

Or is he slipping away?
Turning his head
Retreating, breathless and spent
Searching for a gutter to call his home
To forge a bed and rest his lungs
And hope that a muse might find him there
And pull him from the night.

…

Amy Gillies is a contemporary artist who lives and works in London. Employing painting and poetry as a vehicle for social and political dialogue, her practice is concerned with the memory of the past and the politics of the present. In 2019, Amy completed an MFA in Fine Art from Kingston School of Art, where she had studied a BA Hons in Fine Art and Art History previously. Since graduating, Amy has taken part in the Artists in Residence programme at One Paved Court in Richmond and has exhibited and performed in several group exhibitions including The London Art Grads Now 2021 at Saatchi Gallery. Her work has been published in Secret Chords: A Poetry Anthology of the Best of Folklore Prize, Alternate Route and The Jupiter Review, Stone of Madness Press, Swim Press and Tiny Wren.