‘Sonnet’ by Cleo Henry

Carson McCullers and I in tesco
around us packets singing wowwowwow
at her sadness her death in Nyack New York
I feel butch as hell offering wildly
Carson McCullers this could all be ours
imagine this jam wounding your white shirt
filling our sink splattered on my bare leg
these frozen chips could last us a lifetime
her shaking head catches the yellow gleam
from gold bullions of american cheese
which would melt if we passed it between us
melt as you would too Carson McCullers
without the cold air of the dairy aisle
this world clingfilmed here in its lightless light

From issue #13: spring/summer 2022

About the Author
Cleo Henry (they/them) is a writer and researcher based in London. They are particularly interested in queerness, archives and the apocalypse. They have been published by Burning House Press, Cipher Press and in Untitled, amongst others. ‘Sonnet’ is taken from their latest pamphlet, The Last Lesbian Bar in the Midlands, published by Fourteen Poems.