Megan Holbrook

Poetry collection

the fall

Let me hold on

I ask the bay

even though I know

it’s time for him to let me go.

We spent our months

basking in the glow

of sweet summer,

his fingers in mine.

Maybe I thought the sun

would melt them together

so we could stay that way forever.

He could see

when the light slipped sooner

and the air grew thinner

whilst I gripped on tighter,

still caught in a weeping equinox.

But now I let go.

I’ll see you again in the spring

I say

as I fall to his feet.

the pear tree

September brought a gift for the garden

and it rained and rained in celebration. Raised by the hedgerow, fed by the pear tree.

You’re the girl with a thousand freckles

the garden had cried

and the lilacs smell just like your skin.

Planting her promises back into the soil,

she watched her seedlings grow

and vowed to always do so.

But she couldn’t see when they were walked over

by the boy who preferred apples to pears, yet still he snatched the fruit from her tree, down in two bites,

she’d screamed in delight, blindsided

by the smile stuck to his face

and the juice running down his chin.

When he was gone, the garden took her hand

and pips they scattered together

of the pears she’d never shared.

falling out of love

I close my eyes as it hits me,

purring as it slips

from my head and through my legs

and it feels ok when I realise

it’s not your touch.

once, my touch was yours

but now I slip

slip

slip away.

I bare my body to the water

and it cleanses me

and takes you from me

and tells me I’m whole

as I am.

It was you I loved when I stepped in,

but it’s me as I step out.

Megan Holbrook

Hello, I’m Meg! I’m currently in my second year of studying English Literature in Exeter. I’m from Cornwall, and when I’m at home, I spend all my time at the beach and in the sea. As well as the many summer days I spent reading on the beach, I’ve always loved creative writing, which I’ve been lucky to be able to take modules in this year; after uni, I would love to go into publishing. These poems are inspired by the pain I felt in seeing someone I love go through heartbreak. Thank you!