Na(HIV)PoWriMo ± April 28, 2018

Scott-Patrick Mitchell
post-innocence

when we were young
we used to play kiss chasey
running around playgrounds
through tunnels, across monkey bars
wiping boy germs / girl germs
from our lips, with a laugh

now there is sex
fluid
rubber
& penetration

two selves trying to conquer
every fantasy they ever had

now there is sex
& uncertainty

prepping in the bathroom

biohazard bags & blood

the fluid, the rubber
the unseen open cuts

now there is sex
three letters
& mathematics

 

Scott-Patrick Mitchell’s work appears in New Poets (Fremantle Press, 2010) and Performance Poets (Fremantle Press, 2013) (Fremantle Press) as well as in The Turnrow Anthology of Contemporary Australian Poetry (Desperation Press/ turnrow Books, 2013), Contemporary Australian Poetry (2016) and The Fremantle Press Anthology of Contemporary West Australian Poetry (2017). SPM is the Social Media Coordinator for WA Poets INC / Perth Poetry Festival.

SUBMIT to Na(HIV)PoWriMo via our SUBMITTABLE site.

If you want to support the mission and work of HIV Here & Now, consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Indolent Arts Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charity.

Join our mailing list to receive news, updates, and special offers from Indolent Books, the publisher of HIV Here & Now.

Here is today’s prompt

(optional as always)

Write a poem that contrasts two different times, places, or situations: then/now, single/married, younger/older, there/here, etc.