Poems to share

No Message

by Roger McGough

At first, picture postcards.
Next to my address:
A blank stare

The occasional letter.
Envelope open to reveal:
An empty page

The late-night phone call.
I recognise the intake of your breath
But no voice

Finally, the bottle
Washed up on the beach
By the morning tide

Pulling out the cork
I remove the slip of paper.
In your handwriting it say;

‘No Message’

 

© Roger McGough 2016. Reproduced by kind permission of the author.

Roger McGough

Poet, playwright, broadcaster, and children’s author Roger McGough was born and raised in Liverpool. A prolific writer, he has published more than 50 books of adult and children’s poetry, as well as several plays, including a recent verse adaptation of Molière’s Tartuffe (2008). Notable poetry collections include Defying Gravity (1992), The Way Things Are (1999), and That Awkward Age (2009). His most recent collection is 'Poetry Pie', a book of children's poetry, published by Puffin.