Hopscotch
Words by Luke Galea
Visuals by Yentl Spiteri on Midjourney
1
Draw the numbers on the ground
Lift up your hand and lick the chalk off your hand
Shout for me to start
2
The minute you call my name
The bridges of my heart collapse
I run, jump, hop over the numbers
Just to reach you by the finish line
3
My country, my country, the best
My country, loves the gays,
“Are we welcome here?”
4
The way you undress me
The threads of my clothes float in the air
Play me another Taylor Swift song
Let me cry on your shoulder
Before you tell me you love
Love me like no other
Under the midnight sky
I will be there, for you, to take,
Take me in your arms –
5
You scrapped me off like leftovers on a plate
You dusted me off with your cleanest microfibre cloth
You unpegged me like clothes off the washing line
6
Running, jumping, hopping, hoping to get back to you
Myself is nothing, I am nothing, You are everything
Taking You and carrying You with me everywhere
Let me be your indefinite article or pronoun,
Do not specify me
7
In December you blew out all the candles on my birthday cake
When I asked you why didn’t you wish me happy birthday
You laughed and menacingly told me I’m being petty
I watched you eat the cake without a fork
Did you look like a pig or a delicate creature hungry to be nourished?
8
Don’t ask me any question, you once said
I have all your answers, you once said
“You are the unsolved crossword I want to crack”, you once told me
9
Erase the numbers on the ground
Kiss me with the chalk in your mouth
Poison me with your self,
Yell for me to submit to you.
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