Alan Peat

Lydia Dwight (d. 1674)

I pay my regards to the potter’s child, dressed now as then for her final rest. Her salt-glazed face is framed by a hooded shift, a cap with tie-tapes tight about her head. She clasps cut flowers to her cold stoneware chest. 

This cloth will never be drawn down to cover her. This winding sheet will not be turned and tucked around her neck. I stood, one last time, before John Dwight’s daughter, safe in the knowledge that she’ll see me out.

dropped
tulip petals
on a polished table 
egg tempera bruised fruit
in a riveted bowl

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About the Author

Alan Peat is a UK-based poet and author. His work has featured in Frogpond, Mayfly, Heliosparrow, The Heron’s Nest, Presence, Hedgerow, and Blithe Spirit, among others. He was runner-up in the 2021 British Haiku Society’s Ken and Norah Jones Haibun Award and won a Touchstone Award for Individual Haibun 2022. His book of collaborative ekphrastic haibun with Réka Nytrai, Barking at the Coming Rain (Alba Publishing, 2023) is available on Amazon or by e-mailing alanpeat@icloud.com.

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