think about Wallace Stevens

about tigers in red weather

go for a beer

in the bar by the park

it's so odd to sit in that

empty office

and feel the day

so full -

I am a horse out in a field

dreaming of apples September

list no 2

salted caramel

vinegar on chips

mint, dill and sage

goats cheese

strawberries and

field strawberries

glasses of Guinness

pale white cherries

dried fruits and

Snickers bars

mountain water

freezing cold

a man eating apples

a woman eating grapes

in the light

of a dark

living room our worlds

are wrapped

within one

another

_______________

Michael Phoenix is a human rights researcher from Belfast. His short fiction and poetry has appeared or is upcoming in The Dublin Review, The Stinging Fly, Channel, The Bohemyth and The Red Fez.