an IKEA flat pack shelving unit
I am following you up the aisle along the checkout
beside you as you drive it’s in the back bubble wrapped
I’m tearing the box popping bags of nuts and bolts but
really i am admiring the neighbour’s washing line you
finger the instructions sort the wood by size I’m knee
bound looking for a screw below the fridge you’re building
I’m carrying things putting things down you’re building
till we argue I say ‘I don’t care anyway’ and storm off it
leans like a man about to jump to his death afterwards we
watch a film as the sex scene creeps in we fall to library
silence your eyes look anywhere but at me like I’m your
dog shitting we cannot find the position our fingers used
to fit so I compliment our IKEA shelving unit my eyes
skirt beyond the slanting base that night I dream we are
standing in the pouring rain pretending not to get wet
Arji Manuelpillai: I’m a poet and educator in London. Some people like my poems those people include Rialto, Prole, Lighthouse Journal and Cannon’s Mouth. I have also been shortlisted for Live Canon Prize and The Robert Graves Prize and finally i am a Jerwood Arvon mentee currently.