Jo Longley is an alumna of Kingston University’s Creative Writing MFA Program and past Editor of ‘Ripple Magazine.’ Her poetry has been published by ‘Cattywampus,’ ‘Confingo,’ The Enemies Project, and ‘Anapest’ among others.
Narcissus Bulbs
My brain is a daffodil.
I like the crisp line of your trousers,
pressed divinely; an employable skill that is.
I’m scared most every day,
like all things that happen everyday—meh.
A sustained lightning flash of terror looks just like
a plain white wall. Who’d have known? Besides
the terrified and soldiering on. A daffodil? Yes.
I couldn’t begin to explain why, save the soles
of my feet ache, you seem suitable to employ,
and I press this upon you: for a while you
crave color—a splash, a dot—and
when that does not come,
you swear to every aphid that crawls over you:
some black would be suitable, actually, a wall of black
would really do.