Basic Anthropology
You liked to break trees,
one dry branch at a time,
and test your full weight
against the centuries inside.
When the tree was gone,
you longed for witnesses
to understand your regret.
You liked to burn books
in a random sequence
of torn pages in parkland,
using a magnifying glass
to direct 91 million miles
of rampaging sunshine
onto exclamation marks.
When the book was gone,
you longed for a narrative
to guide your forgiveness,
or teach you to apologise.
You liked to hurt lovers
by using the simplest lie
against the truest hearts –
dividing faith from faith,
and trust in naked eyes.
When the lovers were gone,
you longed to be kissed,
you longed to be touched,
you longed for their love
to keep your heart loving.
Robin Lindsay Wilson was born in Australia of Scottish parents. He is a lecturer in acting and performance at QMU, Edinburgh. Robin has three collections of poetry published by Cinnamon Press. His poems have been published in many UK magazines and journals, including Acumen, The Rialto, Dream Catcher and Magma.