Megan Johnstone and Kerstin Jump –
Editor’s note: We were lucky enough to get in contact with Bath Time magazine over at the University of Bath to give our respective poets the theme of life in our different university towns. As someone that has lived in both Exeter and Bath, these poems give a lovely sense of place that I hope you enjoy. It was a really cool project to be a part of, so thank you Bath Time and Katie Head for helping to make it happen. We hope that this is the first of many collaborations to come!
Gertrude
Kerstin Jump
She said, ‘No. Those bricks were different
when I was dancing’.
I showed her a picture of the bright spotlights
scouring from Taco Bell on Sidwell street.
And laughing – confessed to her that I once dropped
my entire drunk purchase of churros and dip
on the pavement – and that I almost cried.
She said, ‘No, that can't be right –
this doesn't look the place for praying.
Not those church windows’.
I played for her a video of me and a friend
on our knees sobbing and rolling
with fits of giggles at some odd comment I'd made
following a trip to the cathedral.
She said ‘No, no I remember Christmas there.
I used to think I could see the ghosts
of kings and prioresses but those young white
figures in straight suits and patched green dresses –
No. That's not the right window either’.
Finally, I told her of that one late evening
by the sea – flushed, half naked dripping with salt
and spray along our chilly pink faces.
I think she smiled – something about never
stepping in the same stream twice.
We Found Ourselves In Bath
Megan Johnstone
I wonder what this city was like
when the Romans ruled the kingdoms far and wide
But now it’s just us in this heritage town
with its limestone walls and
Gorgon’s head watching over us
Sat atop the hill is our home
with its grass amphitheatre and
duck pond tucked away between the weeds
In the summer we sit on blankets
with fruity Pimms in hand,
I swear I’ve never seen your
scarlet hair shimmer red like that
but when that light gets low
we hike to Sham castle
with its singular wall
made to please a rich man’s scene
Then laid down on that forbidden golf course
we behold the northern lights
as they illuminate the sky that violet turquoise
But a few months later the sky was dark
that night I felt like I might die
as I sat atop that hill staring out at the city lights
but you were sat there in the chaos with me
and I swear I’ve never seen
a more mesmerising sunrise
and after a jacket potato at the Pitstop,
the tears finally dried on my glowing cheeks
But now we’re getting older,
paying our own bills
and arguing with landlords
over the ever-growing mould
and the breeze that lingers
like the spirit of those who came before,
reminding us that this is all temporary
And as we stood outside the Abbey
I smiled at your mum
as she squeezed my hand,
knowing I grew into myself
because you were my roots, intertwined
Where the city meets the countryside
is scribbled on the wall of the underpass
where I greeted a homeless man once
and drunkenly walked through
after so many euphoric nights
because soon I will graduate
and you’ll move to Spain
but I promise I will never forget
the way you held me in your arms
in this Roman city we called home for a while