I turn the blue estuary ruby
as you watch me
from your writing shed
the water is peony up close
a mix of blood clots like jelly fish
and semen crests, red edged
I heat the water on impact
which sets the blood permanently
on the inside of my thighs
you wrap a wool cardigan bandage
onto the wrong part of me
with hands that don’t understand
Wendy Allen has had poems published in Brunel Writer and Re-Side and came third in the Cheltenham Poetry Festival competition 2021. Her first pamphlet will be published shortly as a Legitimate Snack from Broken Sleep.