Margaret Royall is a poet and short story author with six books to her name: a micro chapbook Singing The Earth Awake, Hedgehogpress,’ two poetry pamphlets, Earth Magicke and Immersed in Blue, from Impspired, two poetry collections, Fording The Stream (independently published) and Where Flora Sings (Hedgehog Press) plus a memoir in prose and verse, The Road To Cleethorpes Pier from Crump’s Barn Studio . She has been shortlisted for several poetry prizes, won the Hedgehog Press’ Full Fat collection competition 2020 and her collection was nominated for the Laurel Prize. She has been widely publishes, including in Impspired, Dreich, Black Bough Poetry, Indigo Dreams, Sidhe Press, The Storms, Hedgehog Press, Yaffle, Crumps Barn Studio and others. She was recently chosen by Erbacce Press as one of their four featured poets for 2024 and her poetry plus in-depth interview will be showcased in their autumn quarterly journal. New in 2024 were a new collection from Hedgehog Press, Toccata & Fugue with Harp, and a chapbook from Dreich, Owl Fetish. Forthcoming is Hemlock & Honey. She runs a poetry group in Nottinghamshire and participates in open mic events locally.
How (not) to dress for a Birthday
Blue sailor stripes reflect
my river mother’s fashion taste….
a linen collar, blue-bag-starched
to a White Strand of the Monks,
sewn slant as an Emily Dickinson poem,
blue ripples iced with milky spume
cascading headlong to a roiling pool.
This quirk of sartorial elegance,
each rose-tinted birthday rushing past
in summer hopscotch disarray.
My mother’s choice, a sugar-coated nod
to our seaside home; a sailor smock,
outwardly feigning bourgeois cool,
yet laced with the bohemian vibe of
her Bloomsbury alter ego.
She hated me as warrior bee
in shimmering gold and little black dress,
a scintillating belle-of-the-garden ball,
napping in campion throats,
humming a prime donna aria, yet secretly
a defrocked angel blowing a tinny trumpet
in final act of defiance…
Her sting morphed me from pampered princess
to lachrymose Cinderella in soot-black rags.
A Peeling back of Time
The drawbridge moans,
yanks at its moorings.
You grab my clammy hand.
Torchlight casts shadows as
fear rises in the gut…
Why are we here?
A voice questions our intent, hisses a warning
Best if you leave right now. Nothing for you here.
We perch on the curtain wall,
two starving birds on the hunt for food,
souls seeking answers to life’s big questions.
Stench of decay, hint of sacrificial blood…
the toll of history weighs heavy here.
I sense a hand hovering, gnarled fingers parted,
try to cry out but fear chokes my breath.
Suddenly a coal black raven
swoops down the old chimney shaft,
wings brush against my cheek…
A messenger… of impending doom?
Time is deceptive…
Even as I turn my head
I hear the dawn chorus….
a familiar clattering of feet on the stairs…
a spitting of logs in the kitchen grate…
I open my eyes,
feel the soft touch of the duvet against my skin,
hear my partner singing in the shower.
Zoomorphic* Talisman by Margaret Royall
My silver ring serves well as talisman,
exquisite in its craft, portraying skill
of artisans, whose progeny are still
at work today, here on Iona’s isle.
Hand-made with love from Dalriada’s* land;
the wearing of it brings a secret thrill.
It fits the slim fourth finger of my hand,
adorns it with zoomorphic patterning,
depicting Celtic beasts, whose symbols bring
nostalgia for past times, for ancient lore..
I picture Druid priests in prayer, who stand
in woodland groves where trees spread guardian wings.
The Celts handcrafted sacred jewellery
to nurture souls wherever they might dwell.
traced on Iona from the Book of Kells,
revered as being honed by angel hands;
delightful motifs with strong symmetry,
guarding the noble class with sacred spells.
The silver metal used drew on the moon,
whose healing powers we value still today;
a talisman when walking Columb’s* way,
fecundity that nurtures plants and seeds:
I wear my ring, trust that her power will
protect me always, bring good luck my way.
*Zoomorphic – carefully curated silver jewellery is made at the Celtic heritage gallery,
Aosdana, on the island of Iona. Some pieces are patterned with abstract animal forms, known
as zoomorphic patterns.
*Dalriada – a former Gaelic kingdom (5th century ad –9th century ad) comprising Argyll,
parts of the Inner Hebrides, and parts of modern Antrim.
*Columb – Saint Columba
impspired 