The core
by Lee Nash

It’s in every
photograph.
Symbolically,
the apple core
had more appeal
than a horse
or a heart,
I’d say because
it reminded me
of the stars
that were taken away
while I was not looking,
my unseen pointers,
those five signs
lost, fast eaten up.
Yet vertically intact
the feminine form
retained its seeds —
better this way round,
though it required
patience.
There was time.
Those childhood
summers were too long
anyway, meant
dreaming of the day
I would hold
me whole
and bring home
white blossom
was all there was.

© Lee Nash 2015. All rights reserved.

AUTHOR’S NOTE ON THE PHOTOGRAPH: London,1973 (age six). We are just about to leave for South Africa, where I lived until 1984.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Lee Nash was born in England and grew up in South Africa. She now lives and works in the beautiful…