Sébastien Houix
Nurse
The distant Peugeot grows. It crushes the gravel
to the porch, grinds to a halt. Silence then,
until feet tip-tap up the steep steps to the top.
Her hand’s on the knob, knocks.
Towering over my head
she beckons me to this again with a smile,
asks me how I feel. I hated the intrusion, to start with.
And the early reminder - the first one most
days - that I can no longer believe my dreams.
There won’t be walks to unfamiliar bars
with acquaintances picked up by the unconscious,
she had come to tell me.
Intimidating to be the focus of attention
at this intimate time of day. When I felt
my thing dancing dangerously out under
the duvet, I wanted to wake from the nightmare
before she bared me to bathe me
like a new-born baby. Now I let her
handle me with a refrained amount of pleasure.
Page(s) 31
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