Nocturne
O somewhere deeper than language can sign O somewhere invisible
in the body O somewhere in the backbone of breath O
bird song on the curve of moonlight O I recite all the apparitions
O in the early hours of winter O in this sound
O not quite loss nor mislaying O with Chopin
O as in bone or obsession
as in Orpheus as in ebony
the opus of night walking and night sensing night O this street
replete with specters O the trees and softness seeking O
this un-building of love in the practice of night O
between tongue O the music of a body in language
O and O you language where languages ends
Agnieszka Studzińska is a poet, writer, and educator. She has an MA in Creative Writing from the U.E.A and a practice based Creative Writing PhD from Royal Holloway University of London. Her debut collection Snow Calling was shortlisted for the London New Poetry Award 2010. Her second collection, What Things Are is published by Eyewear Publishing (2014) and her most recent collections, Branches of a House (2021) and Seamless (2026) with Shearsman Books. She teaches for the Poetry School among other educational institutions.