Most Read... John McAuliffeBill Manhire in Conversation with John McAuliffe
(PN Review 259)
Patricia CraigVal Warner: A Reminiscence
(PN Review 259)
Eavan BolandA Lyric Voice at Bay
(PN Review 121)
Joshua WeinerAn Exchange with Daniel Tiffany/Fall 2020
(PN Review 259)
Vahni CapildeoOn Judging Prizes, & Reading More than Six Really Good Books
(PN Review 237)
Christopher MiddletonNotes on a Viking Prow
(PN Review 10)
Poems Articles Interviews Reports Reviews Contributors
Reader Survey
PN Review Substack

This poem is taken from PN Review 94, Volume 20 Number 2, November - December 1993.

Three Poems Sophie Hannah

Mountains out of Small Hills

Dogs are objecting to the word dogmatic,
the use of certain phrases - barking mad,
dog in the manger. Equally emphatic
are other species. Rats and snakes have had

enough of being symbols of deceit
and treachery. They say there's no excuse,
and there are fish protesting on the street
at being linked with alcohol abuse.

You couldn't taunt a coward nowadays
with 'scaredy-cat' or 'chicken.' Cock-and-bull
stories have been renamed. Nobody says
'God, she's a cowl' Nobody pulls the wool

over another person's eyes - the lambs
have seen to that. Nobody rabbits on.
Nor has there been a ramraid since the rams
...


Searching, please wait... animated waiting image