<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When I Return to London<\/strong> I tell London, that I knew the ocean When I return to London The city asks And I will drown in myself Because one day the ocean will say <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Maddie Godfrey<\/strong> is an Australian-bred poet living in London. She has won poetry slams in Western Australia, London, Oxford and Cambridge. Maddie has performed at the Sydney Opera House, and at a festival held in a graveyard. www.maddiegodfrey.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When I Return to London \u00a0 It asks me how long I can hold my breath for I tell the city, that I invented drowning That I knew the ocean when it was only limbs \/ not yet a body That could not swallow Only spit or spray I tell London, that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-prose-poetry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12581"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12581\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12583,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12581\/revisions\/12583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\u00a0<\/strong>
\nIt asks me how long I can hold my breath for
\nI tell the city, that I invented drowning
\nThat I knew the ocean when it was only limbs \/ not yet a body
\nThat could not swallow
\nOnly spit or spray<\/p>\n
\nWay back when
\nIt was sinking too
\nBefore the waves and the wildlife
\nI tell London, that I have seen how wonder looks before others glance its way
\nHow a universe looks when it is still an atom
\nHow all humans still sway like windscreen wipers
\nOn days there is no storm<\/p>\n
\nThe city does not ask where I have been
\nIt is an abusive lover
\nI will leave, then come home to
\nOnly to count each bruise like a new bedtime story<\/p>\n
\nIf I have learnt to run in my sleep
\nI ask it if the ocean sleeps
\nI do not say, I am the ocean
\nBut I mean, I am going to make waves
\nI am going to crash again and again
\nAnd still thrash like nothing has happened
\nI am going to bubble over
\nWhile everyone watches
\nI am going to scream until the seagulls
\nArrive to offer assistance<\/p>\n
\nJust like the ocean does each night
\nBefore the sky resuscitates it,
\nI will hold my breath
\nJust to remember how good oxygen tastes
\nIn desperate lungs<\/p>\n
\nThat it knew me when I was only limbs
\nNot yet a body<\/p>\n