The naming of things
You have swallowed a planet
& I have been witness
To its swelling & swirling,
Have felt it orbit
Beneath my hand,
Have seen its gravity
Pull you from bed
To the toilet
& back again.
Have heard it atom along,
Tap dancing a private rite.
It has woken you which has
Woken me & in those milky
Moonlight hours it grows
Between us, the simplest
Of silences solars in your eyes.
There are moments I fear
I will not know how to breathe,
That gravity will no longer exist
& I will float aimlessly forever.
I sometimes picture an eclipse,
An explosion, the big bang
All over again.
A letter has never known
Such weight.
These letters, in this order,
Have never looked so perfect.
Aurora.
Patrick Holloway’s story ‘Laughing and Turning Away’ took second place in the Raymond Carver short story contest and was published by Carve. He was the winner of Headstuff’s Poem of the Year 2018. He was also shortlisted for the Dermot Healy Poetry Prize, Over the Edge New Writer award and The Bath Short Story Award. His stories and poems have been published by Overland, Poetry Ireland Review, Papercuts, The Illanot Review, The Stinging Fly, among others. He has recently completed his first novel. His greatest achievement is his baby girl, Aurora.