Night Flowers
‘The calm,
Cool face of the river
Asked me for a kiss.’
-‘Suicide’s Note’ by Langston Hughes
Tommy and Nordi
Share a
Rundown apartment
Vietnam Veterans
Ambling up
Some floating jetty
Must be in New York
They took a good look
At the skyline
For a while
Standing silent
Nordi’s arms
Are crossed
Forlorn
With his black
Dropping moustache
Tommy
Looks down
At the water
Below
As if it had been
A woman’s lips
Asking for a smooch
Asking for Tommy’s tongue
To thrust itself
Inside its mouth
‘Dead, aint it?’
I’m sure
I hear Nordi
Ask Tommy
Tommy pauses
Ever so dramatically
‘I want to fall in love’
He says
‘Even for an hour’
I stop the film
I rewind
I watch
Tommy
Repeat the same line
Again and again
Murmuring to myself
His words
Mark Anthony Pearce lives and works as a Receptionist in Bristol, England. His poetry has been published in the University of Essex Poetry Journal, BS Poetry Magazine and online, Inefável, Coronaverses, Winamop, Horror Sleaze Trash, Duane’s PoeTree & Piker Press. Mark’s writing has also featured in ‘Anne Bean: Self Etc’ (Live Art Development Agency and Intellect Books, Autumn 2018)
