‘Not to Mention’

(After Frank O’Hara)

“… the cult of how much Cam loves his friends…”

Meanwhile my party gushes on like gravity’s ghost

And happiness hangs around the room in constellated hearts

Though not like candied candour but a parade facing front

In one line sweeping side-eyes into and out of contact –

For instance Lily’s smile is stamped on silent sparks

While Shawn sighs for knowing now the strain of names;

Dom’s glare is sectioned off as being too brave

And Franki’s grace she folds away in our back-pocket.

Neither ends nor means but in-between it seems

We shadow Christine’s swagger on a canvas-spread

Just like Cristina’s carefree turn on the water’s border

Or how Ydalie blushes to the beat of an accidental accent –

I wish it could feel more than a jokey samsara:

How Keely looks along with truth on indefinite credit

Into Jono’s laughter like a melancholy croc’s

While Rebecca loops her dreams through a rollercoaster.

The facts scatter in seconds but Dev’s heart does glisten

And Katie’s eyes simmer like sensitive stars;

Alice always dances inside a curved mirror

And Liv fiddles often with the settings of bliss.

All strokes are stains in a standalone skim –

Your glamour goes out like a fuck-yes feeling

And sweeps back in with a full breadth of attention;

I love you as a stranger loves a stranger’s hymns.