Two Poems
Keep The Lights On
Turn the lights up, love
I want to drink in all of you
To look at your glorious body
Touch you and watch as my hands
Make trails on your skin
And I will not hide in gloom
I need you to see me
Recognise my body as it is, now,
This body that has changed after
It carried and birthed and fed
Our babies,
The babies we made in love
I am growing older
Beside you;
Becoming
Softer, fleshier.
But my body is still for you to gaze at;
Revel in.
Adore
Appreciate
Love me
Over and over and over
Worship at my altar,
Taste me –
Show my body the desire it deserves.
Toast
(after Leslie Michelle Yeary)
Love is a piece of hot buttered toast
Breaking the fast of long, lonesome nights
Perfectly toasted, just how I like it;
Thick butter dripping with joyous saltiness
Satisfying crunch as I bite into delight
Nourishing, satiating, comforting
Melting heat spreading in my belly
Available in abundance
No pretension just a willingness to savour:
Be present in the moment
A hangover cure; soothing balm to nausea
The last snack before bed: a warm cuddle
To send me into a contented sleep
Love is a piece of hot buttered toast
That tastes like home.
This poem has previously appeared in Cordelia Magazine
Ellen Clayton is from Suffolk, England where she lives with her husband and three young children. Her poetry often focuses on motherhood and love. She has been published in the Daily Drunk and has poems forthcoming in Nightingale and Sparrow, and Corporeal, Gypsophila and Honeyfire literary magazines. Her poetry can be found on Instagram @ellen_writes_poems.
