She scared me in Primark, I was trying to buy some pants

She scared me in Primark, I was trying to buy some pants

'Did you forget hen?
Morvern Callar is mine'

Her voice in my ear, thick as eels
shook my left lobe, left the silver ringing.

She made me think of home,
of land left under water too long
of black earth and flint,
the bridge, and all that love closing in.

The turquoise pants in my hand
felt like fuel to a house fire I once dreamt of.

I thought of the slow filmic fall
of the book into the bathtub,
the glue of the spine spreading
like butter left too long in a microwave.