LIMBS

Last night I dreamt that your limbs were on wrong
Your arms on your back like wings gone astray
A woeful Picasso for modern day

Back-to-front legs screwed into their sockets
Spine in an arc, tiny, contorted
Strained as you dream of the crook of my arm

You’re halfway poached, not ready to surface

And I don’t know what to do for the best
As a luckless limb protrudes from your chest

But I know that I can’t do it again

Chasm too deep to find strength to will it
Hollow without you, I’ll never fill it

Acrylic on canvas by Nikki Dodds