Nicola’s piece was based around the Opinion Pole maypole installation on Store Street.
Their brightly coloured dreams spiral in the breeze
Stippled along satin lengths they flutter, flashing glimpses of dignified longing
One wants a future where quiet voices can be heard
A shocking pink neighbour imagines governments telling the truth
A tangerine ribbon between asks when can we have hope without limits?
The heavy freight of their expectations is weighted to the granite cobblestones by softly dense bags
Maypoles are meant to be joyous
Rainbows unravelled by laughing women and men fresh from Beltane lovemaking in the fields
But this year’s maypole will stay untouched
Its hopes anchored to the ground by fear’s gravity with no hands to circle it dizzily
To swing its ribbons giddily and set its wishes free
But the maypole has its own vitality, twirling brightly in the breeze
Nicola Gill
> Return to 26 Writers in Residence homepage