Rolled-Up Sleeves

Tom’s advice, mind you,
was to drink hot chocolate
last thing at night
on a garden bench
beneath the moon.

So, we sat there.
Our eyes grew accustomed
to monochrome
and to the unusual grammars
of darkness.

A hazel-nut or two
fell from the tall & leafy tree.
Occasionally
there was
a rustle in the hedge.

Our hot chocolate
perfumed the garden
with a touch of the exotic.
The air did not feel cold
on our bare arms.

Philip Rush was born in Middlesex. Big Purple Garden Paintings was short-listed for the Aldeburgh First Collection Prize; he has also collaborated with the photographer Andrew Fusek Peters. His most recent book of poems is Camera Obscura from The Garlic Press.