Aria di Capo by Alex Jenkins

c/w: implied suicidal ideation

Under

a glowering sky

the clouds lower

their eyes

to the reach of sea

crusting the shore.

Under

a glowing sky

Salt grains embalming

tears collide and swell

brimming against

eyelids drooping

in the hectoring

sun which beats

the rhythm of

the waves.

Under

a gloating sky

They sang –

What you take

From us, you must

Return

No song can

Endure, unrepeated.

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Alex Jenkins (he/him) is a writer and civil servant who lives in London and works on an increasingly cluttered kitchen table. He studied creative writing at the University of East Anglia and is a failed academic but a successful father. You can find him on Twitter @alexjenkinspoet.