CUTE BEAR
Rock darned
….. to singsong
the elements
….. out my pocket
.. the ghosts too many
……. in the quiet
too quick before
….. our bedtime … followed
…….. by robots of the night
This is your prone breath
….. in the first heat wave
………. so sticky
… with no touching I’m
obbligato and … chill
… cute bear mauling
cottage piano … Esther Perel
…….. real live couple’s therapist
… charming a hole in my hand
Stroke sheet blatto
to that deep I’ll never be safe
… here just existing … I hate
my dad was right
… place … and sorry
for your face right then
Your thumb on my lip
… so done with me
…… for the night
… and sweet as saltfish
Author’s Bio
D.M. Bradford is the author of Nell Zink Is Damn Free (Blank Cheque Press, 2017) and Call Out (Knife|Fork|Book, 2017). Their work has appeared in Lemon Hound, Group Huddle, Prairie Fire and Toronto Lit Up’s The Unpublished City. He splits his time between Montreal and Toronto.