A new poem by poet and student Antonia Smith.

gooseflesh

today the clouds drift
like torn fish
flesh
submerged whale shift

if not cloud it is sky
if it’s not either, it’s
night

if it’s not night
it’s a distant ceiling
or a housing development
it’s an unfamiliar sound

take your pick

if I wasn’t here
I’d just be somewhere else-

if the street sign says Clark
it’s a street sign
if it says Clark
it’s a sign

if it’s a sign-
leave him,
fuck him,
buy a house on the end of the street

strip your bed
of sheets you are

clean, unclean
if you wash your bed clothes
you better scrub your skin as well

seal up the cracks,
if the room is breathing you are
unclean

if he looks like a man he is
a person if he is a person
meet his eyes

if you imagined it all
you are clearly unwell

if the air is thick it is
filled with something

 

The Friday Poem is edited by Chris Tse. Submissions are currently closed and will open again soon.