Poems by Willow (she/they)
These poems are inspired by my partner and the ins and outs of our queer relationship. I write with the hope of capturing fleeting moments of our lives together and creating something with tangibility and permanence.
PARKING LOT
We’re in a parking lot
(again)
We’ve found each other here
(with our hands and mouths)
Time a plague we’d rather ignore
We’re in a parking lot
(again)
Words spilled inside your car –
have rolled under the seats
Please don’t clean them up
Let’s save them for a rainy day
We’re in a parking lot
(again)
I say again not to complain
But to point out that parking lots –
can be home too
(but only with you)
_
THE BATH
Water runs as the day slips to the floor
Heady steam crawls across the walls
While light is all that holds us together
You sink, and sink, and sink
(and sigh)
Awashed in foam
As I ease into the chasm by your side
Slip a hand into the water –
Just to taste the temperature of your mood
My habitual hands begin their ritual
Of discovering you anew
Tracing every etched line
While roving eyes consume
Slowly,
with care –
So that I might devour the valleys –
Of your softened flesh
All the while,
Mountain ranges make their home upon your skin –
While warmth exits the room without apology
And scented melancholy runs down the drain
–
DNA
Soon,
I find you in every word
And every word is you,
I carry you,
Carefully – so that,
Every shared breath,
Caught up in the sails of our bodies,
May be strung along the strands of my DNA
So that I may never forget
The musk – of you
As I watch you, unfurl
Flower stained lips
Ripe for the picking

Willow (she/they) is a 31 year old queer poet from Cape Town, South Africa. She is soon to be published, and hopes to continue to share her words. You can find them on Instagram at @willowoliviarose