Up in his lair
far from the hearts of men
he fingers the things
he’s salvaged:
a left shoe, five unopened
labelless tin cans,
a broken radio.
It’s not easy
hiding out in remote
locations,
being caught briefly
at the edge of shot
when camera shake
makes it hard to know
what’s really there.
Later, while it’s still light
he stands looking down
into the valley,
thinking of people
opening ready meals
and searching YouTube
for the latest sighting
before stretching out
to his full length of
eight to ten feet,
his eyelids drooping,
one enormous, hairy hand
twitching, while he dreams
of salt beef
and Shostakovich.
© Matt Barnard
Picture 10010443, Bernard Heuvelmans by Alika Lindbergh – Mary Evans
Matt Barnard is a poet and writer. His collection, Anatomy of a Whale, was published in 2018 by The Onslaught Press, and he has won the Poetry Society’s Hamish Canham Prize and the Ink Tears national short story competition. He also edited the anthology Poems for the NHS, published by the Onslaught Press. His website is www.mattbarnardwriter.com
Choose PDF type:
