2022 Commended - Reona Halili, 'THE WAITER AT THE EQUIDISTANT CAFE WEARS A NAME TAG THAT READS MORPHEUS'

REONA HALILI

Commended - 2022 Tower Poetry Competition, 'Dream'

THE WAITER AT THE EQUIDISTANT CAFE WEARS A NAME TAG THAT READS MORPHEUS

We will paint the walls

We will paint the walls and they will no longer writhe.

The pollen of floral wallpaper will no longer burn our eyes.

The roof will no longer swell with acid rain.

We will sit cross-legged again

And I will tell you about how I washed my mother’s hair.

With her skull against the stainless steel of the kitchen sink,

She will blink at me slowly, and we will know.

I will untether the carcass at my feet

I will tie her laces and finally put that little girl to rest.

Red ribbons and white socks

I will beg her for forgiveness once more, and then never again.

The walls will be white

We’ll smoke indoors and watch them yellow

And then paint them again

All I ask is that you tell your two boys about how we tamed Charles’ dog.

And that you pray with me once more this Friday