At Seven
White morning edges and the bed is halved
eating sunlight.
Passing, I see my two hearts giant
enormous.
Your face.
Your smell.
This bedroom scene enlarged as a photograph,
before and between and in the act of intercourse with others.
Indescribable like most gods,
I pick up a handful of something
and it's your hair.
My lack of imagery presents you most clearly
at seven.
Ginger Ale
That night I brought blankets down to the couch
and listened for the phone
until you rang at two and I slept,
head and cushion fused like a scar.
Sleep transforms the room to daylight.
The couch is for sitting.
His herringbone cap spectates from the ledge,
watching the boys play football.
The green curtains are open,
letting in light and breath.
His jacket's on the hook
behind the front door.
Upstairs, the bed has been changed
and suddenly I remember I did it,
crying the day before looking at the bedside
and his half glass.
In Case of Fire
In a blaze, one fire may hide another fire, that is, if you are fighting one
you may be fighting many. And you could be fighting a long time
before it is safe to come out.
In a relationship one fire may put out another, so when having sex it is
important to keep all fires ignited, having matches nearby
is one was to do this. One flame may hide another so it is important
that birthday candles are well spaced on a cake or they may melt before
one has time
to enjoy them. Fear of fire can often be debilitating. It may lead to
other phobias. In treating one, you don’t necessarily cure all of them;
one house fire
may hide another and another and then a lot of flats and Mosscroft
School.
One mobile fire can hide another mobile fire until an outbuilding is
hardly used. In a couple, one passion can hide another. One argument
can hide another, one jealousy another, a whole inferno. When in
bed one face may become the face of another and haunt you long
afterwards.
If you are cooking, one fire can ruin another, if the food you are
preparing burns the roof of your mouth and you lose your appetite. One
Turner painting often resembles
another, unless you spot a tiny red sail on the smallest boat.
When you are seven and arguing about cushions, near a fire, be sure
to lean your body away from the flames. This will prevent an eye shape
being burned onto the back of your hand.
In case of fire do not use the lift or staircase. It is impossible to know
how many levels the fire has reached or how many fires are raging now.
In this house polystyrene coals burn holes in the carpet so do not light
them. One coal sometimes hides another that hides another and that
one hides another in turn. Like cups of tea, these coals are useless
when cold. In the desert, one burning bush can hide another until you
can’t see what else is out there.
At work one story about a fire opens up another until they trigger the
fire alarm and one has to rush outside. If you are Richard Wright, one
straw from a burning broom may follow another until the fluffy curtains
are ablaze and you are hiding under the house shouting, ‘Naw!’
Sometimes it seems that one bonfire, candle, funeral hides inside
another and another until you are almost extinguished. In which case
please break glass.
Lisa Hannah is a writer from Liverpool.