Two After Leda, by Danny Moynihan, by Kate Fenwick

Leda, by Danny Moynihan (UK) 2022-23

​Leda and the Swan
                                                                                                
call that a scuffle?
 
I felt the sky collapse,
nimbus muscle
crammed my mouth
 
my hair knotted
into a double squall
of solar flares.
 
he flew through me,
a comet of beaks
snapping appetite
 
shooting prehistoric
spores of flight.
I buried them
 
in my soft walls
of oil and blood,
waited, gestating.
 
time dilated
like a cervix stretching
for my rebirth.
 
now, a hollow-boned 
hybrid, my shoulder 
blades split
 
skin to hatch wing,
part girl caught
in a trap, part
 
possibility looping
in search of sisters
who’ve traded vertigo
 
for an uncommon
orbit, who know forked
lightning lets us see.
 
we chime the wind
of an astronaut’s
vision, believe
 
resurrection
is a place
where flesh can float.
 
that flustered god
forgot to peck

my eyes out.     

**

Swan and the Comeback Queen, Formerly Known as Leda

​The arena’s rigged, the dick
with the feathers nicked
all the victory moves.
I’m popcorn in the kill zone,
the punters assume 
this champ’s an Olympic
kamikaze, he brags he’ll slam me 
to Mars, a bag of altitude 
over my face, laughing
at my attempts to abort. 
My compression socks roll down- 
     Boom!                 
My hymen splits the speed of sound-      
    Boom!                  
Now you see me with my prize
stolen, claiming centre stage.
Watch my babyface hook levity
back into my armoured heels,
vertigo kicking like a premature birth.
This chick will out-catwalk your crush porn,
leave you down, ten-and-out-
   Ding-Ding!           
You’re the dead bird.
Call 999, you’re not worth
   my mouth to mouth.

Kate Fenwick
​
Kate Fenwick’s poetry has appeared in many magazines and anthologies in the UK, Ireland and USA, including Southword; Ragaire; Skylight 47; Propel; Tar River Poetry. Her work has been shortlisted for prizes including Bridport, The Moth, Plaza, Live Canon, Southword.