Wyoming
his man’s good and dead
news came in a missive that he read
until the sap left him
the paper cut bled
for hours
he held the letter to his mouth, bear-
hugged tight air inside his chest
and held it like a fist
the last kiss
felt kinda strange, blood-rusty, hell
he held that letter to his mouth
for hours
I swear
Andrew F Giles has work in Ambit, Magma, Equinox, JERRY, Poetry Scotland, Gutter, The Recusant’s ‘Robin Hood Book’ & various others. He has written articles on Scottish poetry for The Spectator, & edits Scotland’s online literary arts & culture journal New Linear Perspectives. He is included in the Scottish Poetry Library’s Best Scottish Poetry anthology 2011, edited by Roddy Lumsden
I find this poem strange and beautiful. It describes exactly how I imagine Wyoming to be even though the landscape is never mentioned. Thank you.
Thank-you Josephine. What a marvellous response. ‘Strange’ is an adjective I am very fond of, and I take it is a great compliment. I’ve found your website and look forward to trawling through it.