Two Poems by Jackie Carpenter
Night Stallion
it’s got me again a nightmare again without my wanting between my thighs right there rising up insistent fierce almost-pain forcing me to ride its urgent pounding swell muscled horse hammering relentless galloping faster faster faster white horses dashing flesh hard onto pebbles wave now spent I slide back down face softens eyelids hiding unspent tears hips flump shoulders slump mind drifts undertow shushing back then it demands again hooves on sand, pound pound pound throb on throb fierce and hot squeezing my thighs tight hand there or not it won’t let me go I could cry, if I could cry surging white horses deep insistent thrumming not even the fulfilment that would come with coming it controls my hand fingers knuckles press faster yes yes then it subsides now completely awake I hate how sex must have its way
Stones
There's the pairing of the fascinating smooth
almost flat palm-indented black stone that I've never
tried to find out what it is or its geology beside the
hand-ready mouse-shape smoothworn by sea its
black tracery outlining stained glass creams and
peaches greys and whites and browns and darknesses
together a memory of who knows
where and who knows when a moment in my time aeons
ago lost in the mists of but in geological
time handfasted together through
house moves all I know about them now is
they were the first special ones
nested now with the stones and shells collected in
the Scottish bay last week I know where I found these
each holding its memory of a moment paddling in the
salt smell the ruffling breeze the lapping tide
these memories too will fade stones join the
others treasured for their meaning even though
I don't remember what that is those moments
are in my bones now limestone is bone on bone
my bone is stone on stone
Jackie Carpenter (she/her) lives in a quirky town in the gentle green hills of Derbyshire, England. Identifying as neurodivergent and queer, her prose and poetry has appeared in publications including Motherlore, The Phare, Wensum Literary Magazine, Queerlings, Firewords, NonBinary Review / Alphanumeric, and Mum Life Stories.