LISTENING FOR LIGHT
(Selected Poems)
Ken Head
Ken Head is married with two children and is presently based in England, although for many years he lived and worked in South-East Asia. His poems appear regularly in a wide variety of both print and online publications and a number have been anthologised. In 2008, he published Long Shadows, his first chapbook, available to read online or download from Snakeskin, and was invited by Exeter Phoenix Arts and Media Centre to contribute a poem previously published online by Poets Against War to the visitor material for an exhibition of the work of Iranian-born artist Akram Rahmanzadeh. Anyone interested in hearing Ken read his own work will find him among the poets recorded online at Poetcasting and at Non-Euclidean Café. This is his first full-length collection.
Muhammad’s Box
Bought far away and long ago
from the carver who made it,
the wood’s so silky smooth
it welcomes the touch of hands
far more than polish. Its surfaces
are sinuously worked, big cats,
monkeys, lithe gazelles
and snakes confined inside
a spiralling, branching
intricacy of leaves and vines:
the craftsman’s prayer of thanks,
perhaps, for the marvel of his skill,
the gift by which he dreams
beyond himself and sometimes
glimpses the creativity of God.
Bought far away and long ago
from the carver who made it,
the wood’s so silky smooth
it welcomes the touch of hands
far more than polish. Its surfaces
are sinuously worked, big cats,
monkeys, lithe gazelles
and snakes confined inside
a spiralling, branching
intricacy of leaves and vines:
the craftsman’s prayer of thanks,
perhaps, for the marvel of his skill,
the gift by which he dreams
beyond himself and sometimes
glimpses the creativity of God.
