starstruck sweethearts

stuck on you like moth wings on bathroom walls when I take a
long
hot
shower.

hour after hour I’m sweet on you like sweat on you
bet on you,
wet on you,
stuck to you like hot glue–
ah! it burns a bit,
it twists me up and turns a bit

when you unravel me,
travel me back to when your name sounded sweeter,
metre by metre I trace your trip
with my fingertips
from here to the stars;
from this planet to Mars,
streaked with starlight,
streetlights brighten those eyes like wildfire,
the cosmos caked in your hair,
gasping for air,
but, my god, you are dazzling–

like a kiss

What if I just kissed you?
Threw caution to the wind like mist,
you took my breath away like being underwater does.
London peppers my shoulders like glitter
My rib cage gets bigger just to breathe more of you in,
and I’m dizzy from the way you smell in the moonlight.

Did I say too much when I stuck you to the roof of my mouth with chewing gum?
Giving the game away,
my eyes bigger than my stomach
and a heart somewhere in between
I stare at the shape your silhouette cut out of the night.

Oceans pool in the gaps between my fingers
As I swim to you;
take your face between my seaweed palms
and we could make waves out of one another.

whirled world

the globe spins on the tip of my index finger
as seas and shores slip seamlessly past my eyelashes.

I blink myself between mountains,
on river beds,
my breath evaporating like clouds,
close enough for me to kiss it
too close for me to miss it

behind fences
in street light
between the sheets
underwater

these whirled whispers,
curled lisps of love yous,
held tight in a fist,
crushed like moth wings,
or sprawled across pillows in a morning breathed sigh,
they cross oceans.

LDN

London, you left me undone,
pulled me apart,
concrete teeth on tarmac tongue;
you chewed me up and left me dripping,

gripping my keys in my pocketed fist,
tripping over my own feet into a stranger’s meal deal.
This is the real deal.
Oh yes, I’ve made it.
I’ve made payments for these pavements,
you’ve got my desperation on direct debit.

Please mind the gap between your pain and the landlord.

Swimsuit Season

dear body,
I should tell you
when you spill out from my clothes
I’m the first to scoop you back in,
neaten you up,
flatten you out,
simmer you down,
slimmer and slimmer

I take a deep breath
and suck myself in
until I’m barely there
and after a moment,
I let all that air out
all that belly out
all my hair down
and I force myself to look at the body that
holds me up, holds me in, lifts me high,
those hips don’t lie
but now I’m listening

Swipe dream

When he swiped left,
he thought he knocked me sideways.
Dragged my selfie with his thumb,
and I’m gone from his screen,
gone from his dreams,
but I won’t dream of you.

With your Tinder bio filled with
humblebrags,
mumbled swag,
a fag between your teeth like you’re Tom Waits with Twitter,
except without the music
and you can’t even hold your liquor
until closing time.

Oh sorry… you vape now?
My mistake.
That’s really, truly great.
But you can blow
your candy floss,
nicotine steam
into someone else’s face,
because “I’m here for a good time not a long time”.

Let me be absolutely clear:
(though your ab pics are hard to stomach)
You’re not the only cliché here.

“You’ll find me in the library, at the theatre, or the pub”
(If you exaggerate to get a date, just come and join the club)

“Bookworm in the big city” (tell me that I’m pretty)
“Charity shopping is my life” (I want to be your wife)

Crime: Pretending to be Zooey Deschanel to have my confidence enlarged
Verdict: Unanimously and embarrassingly guilty as I’m charged

Mama

There was no spark in my eyes before you struck me against a matchbox.
All fizz and smoke,
sparkle and dark,
you lit me up.

You took your thoughts of me between your thumb and forefinger like a needle
and carefully,
warily,
daringly,
wove me together,
thread by thread by thread

You sewed me in.
Sowed me in soil with such impatience as you waited for the rains:
“This child will move mountains with my blood inside her veins”

If Icarus was a woman

How was the fall?
You were larger than life when you fell
Just to make me feel small.
Small like a second ticked on a clock,
Smallness my weapon that dropped like a rock
From such heights I never could reach
Such heights I never could seek
Such bright, bright lights.

Icarus; falling.
Bawling.
Trawling for ways to fall with grace,
how to save face,
how to make space,
how to make waves in haste,
get a taste of fame,
get back in the game
and be the man that leapt and fell,
not the woman, kept and felled.

Sisters before misters

Lady, since it seems to have slipped your mind
Let’s retrace our steps
Let’s hit rewind

‘Cause last time I checked you were dazzling
Even through UV-safe lenses your glow is still staggering
Don’t think it’s the wine or my words or the night
Pretty certain it’s you who’s emitting starlight. 

Because, woman, you are fire.
You are snap, crackle and pop.
You ease into kindness like a key in a lock.
You with such shyness make this city’s jaw drop.
And I pick it up off the floor:
“You’d better believe it. She’s all of that shit and she’s more.”

Sister, you are calls at 3am on the night bus
You are text me when you get home
You are all punch then glimmer
You are lime after a shot of tequila
You are spice and you’re moonlight.

All your world’s a stage and you are headlining
Tattooed and trailblazing,
You are fight.

give me dancing

take me dancing before I trip over my own feet
I’m not sure if you’re ready for me, if I’m ready for you;
if I’m ready for two,
ready to rattle your cage like I know what I’m doing,
just play the music and you’ll see how I’m moving.

but let’s go dancing.

let’s suck salt and lime between our gums
let’s take it with us
all sweat and drums.

we don’t have to touch, but for our eyelashes,
our hands don’t have to brush,
just give me side glances; sly passes.

breath on my neck as I’m spinning,
deep in my chest – it’s beginning.