‘prelude’ by A.K. Blakemore

On Tuesday 26 June, A.K. Blakemore will be at the shop for a night of poetry, along with Victoria Adukwei Bulley, Amy Key, Zaffar Kunial and host Martha Sprackland. Book your tickets here.

‘prelude’, below, is taken from A.K. Blakemore’s second collection Fondue, out from Offord Road Books this July.

prelude

i watched a porn
in which a woman pushed her lips to the fractal stream of a hosepipe aimed at a car window.

the man with the hosepipe was wearing overalls
beside a privet line of rosebushes, parti-coloured by the

spray –
a striped umbrella, a jug of pale lemonade.

it seemed so actual
the scene was poignant

and then i wondered where you were.

Book now for A.K. Blakemore, Victoria Adukwei Bulley, Amy Key and Zaffar Kunial on Tuesday 26 June.