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Communion

Claire Trévien performs 'Communion'
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Whilst at Warwick, Claire Trévien was awarded a BA in English Literature, an MA in Translation, Writing and Cultural Difference and a PhD on 'Revolutionary Prints as Spectacle'. She says, "This poem was written while I was living in Paris, during talk of ‘the rapture’, both the city and the notion of apocalypse had an effect on me it seems!"

Speaking about her Warwick module, 'The Practice of Poetry', Claire said, "It was the only creative writing module that I took, and it was such a breath of fresh air, the tutors really encouraged us to think outside of the obvious. Our workshops took place in the forest, in art galleries, and more… I can’t really pick out a particular moment, the whole experience made me braver about declaring myself a poet and forged friendships that continue to this day."

Communion

Claire TrévienThe weather’s gained weight,
sags its pebbled belly against the tips
of the city’s horns.

I’ve slumped, waiting for it to decide,
grotesque piñata, whether to burst
or rapture itself away.

The world has ended, or, at least,
most people have. I am no Avenger:
I have found wine spared

in collapsed cellars, it tastes of hills
now plucked out of reach. Grapes
have been crushed, made to sour

for my pleasure. Unwaged fingers
now mingle with the vines
while the wine runs down my throat.

Broken bottles, broken sky: red rain
heaves out of the cracked world.
I open my mouth for communion.


Claire Trévien is the anglo-breton author of Low-Tide Lottery (Salt, 2011), and The Shipwrecked House (Penned in the Margins, 2013). Her next collection Astéronymes, will be out next year. She founded Sabotage Reviews and its annual Saboteur Awards.