Lord Knows I Can Be Cruel
And that morning, the type of morning
for putting the neighbour’s post in the bin
and you’d ate the last heel of bread,
I chose my words, whetting them in my mouth
so they came out edged.
I chose them so they posted out flat
and cornered like the tray under the toaster
that collects the crumbs and I delivered them
in between your fourth and fifth ribs
like I was sliding in that rusty crumb-tray
to collect the little croutons of your heart.
Niall Bourke is originally from Kilkenny in Ireland but currently lives in London where he teaches English Literature. He is has just finished an MA in creative writing at Goldsmiths university of London. He writes both poetry and prose and has been published in a number of journals and magazines including The Galway Review, The Irish Literary Times, Southbank Poetry, Three Drops From A Cauldron, Prole, Holdfast Magazine and Roadside Fiction. He was shortlisted for the 2015 Over The Edge New Writer Of The Year award for both poetry and fiction. He is currently working towards his first collection.