Lovers.tif

He uploaded their pictures;
stripped her of encryption.

Jpegs compressing her trust,
into downloadable shame.

The black box across his eyes,
fails to hide pixelated morals.

Her hexadecimal flesh tones
wait for web-spiders.

Esther

I used to fall for fuller figures,
but as she leaned her leanness on me,
supporting her slight, slenderness,
close enough to whisper,
while people pressed past;
my tastes changed.
We both grew hungry.

In a room lending shadows
We’d come… to talk.
On a borrowed bed
We came… so to speak.

I tried to learn her lines,
but half light turned to morning after.
Covered by covers of linen on-loan,
memories of form
fade with the ethanol
into the ether.

I won’t forget you Esther.
Or your quiet concave curves.

Tip-Ex Girlfriend

I changed the dates
on your letters,
extended our love
beyond your limits.
To fool a future self
I put them in a box
somewhere I'd forget.

I lost selected pages
I'd never understand.
Removed words you didn't mean
until you started making sense.
Filled empty spaces
with things you used to say,
hoping you'd soon remember.

The last remains unopened,
our Schrödinger-love inside.
Sealed tight, without the kiss.
I wish I could’ve fixed 'us'
with tip-ex and a shoe box.
But words are hard to change
now there's nothing left to say.

i only “know” you sleeping

i only “know” you sleeping
(so seldom) by my side, on yours.
i count your secrets (hairs too few)
for warmdark, unsleepy hours.

would the why of you
(because of him)
be better, the if of other?

no…
slowly rising.
raising shoulders
absolve your (YES)terday.

no-one, my forgiven love,
will ever wake like you.

A Once Warm Cold Shoulder

There was a time when you would move under my fingers,
but now that’s once a month? and often less.
And although the memory of you naked lingers,
now, you turn your back while you undress.

There was a time when we would never sleep apart,
our bed was breathless; not filled with all these sighs,
When the hardest part of me was not my heart,
and the wettest part of you was not your eyes.

There was a time when we used to lie together,
and in a funny way I suppose we still do that.
But the truth is it's time we decided whether,
you take the c.d.’s or get to keep the cat.

The perfect couplet

I looked for our love in poetry,
But found only rhyme.
I searched for your touch in prose,
But found only words.

Maybe those who understand it,
And can put love on a page,
Are too busy being lovers,
To find the perfect couplet.

They know only love, not poetry,
Makes "me" rhyme with "you".

Rhapsody in biro blue

I loved sitting beside you,
My desk the front of house,
To listen to you touch-type,
And double click your mouse.

A melody of post-it notes,
You made each keystroke rhyme.
Each day another opus,
Kept in perfect flexitime.

Now 9 to 5 is not the same,
It’s so quiet without you.
All that’s left: your farewell memo,
A rhapsody in biro blue.