January Poetry Compilation
Sunstroke’s Monthly Poetry Compilation is a collection of work submitted by readers, contributors and staff members. Take a seat, light a candle, grab a cup of tea, and dive into the intricate words of our community.
this morning's tea tasted like peaches and my mother's dissatisfaction
i could taste it in the honey at the bottom of my cup / how could
something so sweet burn so much on its way down? / the
change in the season made all the peaches rot / their sickly
scent snuck up my nose / & lodged itself there forever / so that
now i associate peaches with my tea / & my tea with my mother / &
my mother with everything / i wondered if she still loved me after
all / after all i don’t know how to not be the cause of
dissatisfaction / not even to myself / especially not to myself / i
can’t remember what my tea used to smell like / if anything at all
Clean-Cut
teeth together scalping
chips of plaque crackling
burning bubbles with scorching suds
ripped out roots
bloody blade bristles
wash him away
welcome new day
At Midnight, the Intimacy of Anger
By Marie Naguit
these words are testament
of restlessness—
an implication of intense gnawing,
especially on places where your touch
had been felt.
i am worried for myself, a defeated
captive of my own carnal indulgence.
more than anything, i wanna fuck
you like the animal that you were. i sink
beneath my pain
and my jealousy.
i am aroused by imagining how tensed
your veins were holding the restraint
underneath your garments.
my blood rushes downwards as i see you
numb your precious ethics and stood
bravely upon the cry of the moment.
i visualize your arms suspended
over your head, a resignation
as you took off your shirt.
the tattoo on your left arm as visible
as your ardor. what shirt did you wear?
how did you smell? did the room temperature ease
your uneasiness? were you uneasy in anticipation?
were you surprised with how natural it felt?
how many times did the thought cross your mind
before it led you right back to her bed?
Find out how to submit to future Poetry Compilations here.