The Friday Poem: ‘COLD EROTICA’ by Loretta Riach
A new poem by Loretta Riach.
COLD EROTICA
Kiss me, Hardy,
in the dark-robed blindness of passion,
both of us pressed up against the parapets
of your one bedroom apartment,
a chill against the sliding door.
Kiss me, stranger–
harder than that!
Give it to me like a sail full of wind,
a clear sky and gulls swooping in the rigging,
until I cry out–
land ho!
It’s easy to be full of lust,
especially when thrown into the depths of
a winter, one hell-bent on
flinging sparrows resolutely
into your frozen windows.
Every wing-beat is a new lover to imagine
cold-chested, more naked
with socks on
due to the ineffectual nylon carpet.
Kiss me not just for warmth
but out of curiosity–
who goes there?
Swing your lantern-light
across me, traveller,
bear witness to me
pale-assed in the moonlight
like an upscale ski chateau partially
buried in a snowdrift–
come closer, kiss me darkly,
leave your boots at the door.
The Friday Poem is edited by Hera Lindsay Bird. Submissions are currently closed.
Loretta Riach
Loretta is an artist and writer from Aotearoa, based in Naarm/Melbourne. Much of their work is concerned with landscapes and ghosts, but they also like to write love poems. You can find their writing in places like Sweet Mammalian, Starling, Minarets, Ōrongohau | Best New Zealand Poems, and Takahē Magazine.
