A new poem by poet and artist Sam Duckor-Jones.

Coping Poem

She has just said lean in
She said, oh god I was about to say lean in
& so by accident she has said it

They were huddled at a small uncomplicated table
They were literally leaning in
Oh god, she said

Lean in! he said, let’s just lean in
Let’s go ahead & lean in
& then keep on leaning in, he continued, til we’re all completely prone

Then just stay there for a while seriously, she added
Yes, they both agreed
They laughed & they agreed

They agreed that in this Pear of Our Maud 2022
they might as well lean in & right on thru & out the other side cos what else?
They sighed. Oh god, she said.

& they leaned back into their complex seats
& they leaned hard & effective & they dug in too & kept their soils damp
& they leaned with fecund atmospheres & with brows cocked all the way up

& in smart shoes they leaned in & in
They leaned all the way into the linoleum they did
& then

Stayed there for a while             Yes

The Friday Poem is edited by Chris Tse. Submissions are welcome and will be open until 31 July 2022. Please send up to three poems in a Word or PDF document to chris@christse.co.nz.