Stephen Kingsnorth
Warmer Flesh
Citizens of empty city,
former journeys fill eye bags;
temp accommodation offered,
only if get rid of dog.
But she only understanding,
she alone has need of me,
not regarding me as nuisance,
sidewalk swerving, eyes avert.
But as world self-isolating,
social distance outside home,
lay-abouts that litter pavements
better swept to hostel box.
Pigeon hole for those not fitting
into model lifestyle set,
but that fix ignores my closest;
life’s a bitch, if me or her.
Where would others choose for shelter,
cleaner sheets or warmer flesh?
Rather share known breath of puppy,
panting tongue and wagging tail;
others share the bed of lover,
I would pave-way kennel pooch.
—Submitted on 03/25/2020
Stephen Kingsnorth‘s poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Gold Dust, The Seventh Quarry, The Dawntreader, and Foxtrot Uniform Poetry Magazines, and Identity, as well as in the anthology Pain & Renewal: A Poetry Anthology (Vita Brevis Press, 2019), edited by Brian Geiger. He is retired from ministry in the Methodist Church and lives in Wales. Online at Poetry Kingsnorth.
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