Late Shift at the Pickle Factory

Hello Poetry Lovers

Now is the right time to highlight some of the wonderful poets we encounter and read poetry with.

One of these is the marvellous Mary Dickins, a lovely and deft poet. I swooned over her in Morecambe and am still swooning.

Her collection Late Shift at the Pickle Factory is a very powerful read and one I’d highly recommend. The following piece in particular struck a real chord with me. How it really summed up a childhood, and how easily we could picture the narrator.

Read on and see what you think…..

Childhood

my playground was a bomb crater

my teacher was a monk

my family were aliens

my friends were urchins

my teddy bear was threadbare

my socks fell down

my key let me in after school

my fingers were frozen

my dinner came out of tins

I had a cheeky grin

Mary Dickins 2023

Isn’t that last line wonderful. Such a clear picture of a child and how they get on with life. Love it.

Thank you so much for letting me publish this, Mary. Adore it. I highly recommend Mary’s collection Late Shift at the Pickle Factory published by Burning Eye Books.