You became obsessed with nucleated red blood cells when you peeked through an
aperture window at your liquid, viscous nature. You became obsessed with maps

we’re trying to construct a frame for this
‘highly reactive impulsive emotion’
the nurse is looking into it   

Eupatorium maculatum     Acer pseudoplatanus     Quercus robur     About the plant poems: They were sketched from life in a notebook. Later I created riso prints with two or three colours based on the sketches. I tried to make the words as visual as possible so not much description or illustration was needed, but in the case of 'Acer Pseudoplatanus' (sycamore) I added some actual sycamore leaves. 'Quercus robur' was based on a fallen oak I encountered, and 'Eupatorium maculatum' (Joe Pyeweed) felt like a very flamboyant plant. Steph Morris’ poems have been published in his pamphlet Please don’t trample us; we are trying to grow!, in various magazines, in the anthologies Joy//Us – Poems of Queer Joy, Poetry Prescription: Becoming, and several gardens. He translates poetry from German, including Ilse Aichinger’s Squandered Advice and makes visual poetry. He can be found on Instagram @herr_morris70 and on Bluesky @herr-morris.bsky.social and on substack...

By the light of a wolf moon,
my father turns mad.
Anne whispers to a girl in the wind,
and a friend blows into my life.

Squirrels dream of a cougar,
a cougar given permission
to crouch like an assassin
awaiting its prey . . .