Florence Heyhoe

Cover Up

It is a lovely thing to look into clear water and see the truth of things. The movement of shrimps, snails, and nymphs turning this way and that. Plants that oxygenate the water, leaves from trees turning to sludge. The water lilies are reaching for the surface, promising flowers. Tadpoles are budding legs now, that will plop them out of the pond.

In winter peering through a covering of irregular patterns, nothing is distinct. Scores in the ice scar my looking.

A place of shadows, diminished songs.

the news
deepest dark 
before dawn

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About the Author

Florence Heyhoe is a textile artist and writer in Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland, whose work has appeared in anthologies and online journals, both at home and overseas. She has been concentrating on the haibun form since 2018. Famished for Light, a book of her haibun, was published in 2025 by Alba Publishing.

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