nightwalking in Exeter
some nights I’d walk myself alive.
let the street decide. I came this close.
(dull halo of a megabus down a dual carriageway)
tried to let go of the railings. lips
grazing a lorry. you should. I couldn’t.
(cold wind clicking on a crane’s metal cage)
thought I’d slip into the river. rip this
letter I up. but my tongue became a torch.
(blue discus of an ambulance hurtling through the dark)
push your ear to the breath of it.
resuscitate a reason.
