‘Bates’ by Toby Buckley

You blew it, Norman, with your big white shirt
tucked into your narrow, high-waisted trousers
like some classy French artiste. In another world,
devoid of mothers, murders, white-tiled showers,

we could be the perfect match. We could enthuse
about the eating habits of birds, try all manner
of kooky hobbies. I could find new purpose
in your business, light lights, follow formalities,

maintain the register while you flounce titlessly
up and down the path from home. Let the highway
move! We can flirt over milk and sandwiches
and shall-I-play-mother until the jug runs dry.

From issue #16: autumn/winter 2023

About the Author
Toby Buckley completed his MA in poetry at the Seamus Heaney Centre in Belfast. His work has previously been published in Poetry Ireland Review, The Tangerine and The Stinging Fly, as well as a number of different independent zines. He received the first Ruth West Award for Poetry in 2016. His first pamphlet, Milk Snake, was published by the Emma Press in July 2022.