SAFE

in the
continuity
of proximity,
morning
softened
bodies
compose
a rose-
golden ode
to fucking.

SKETCH

He shows me a line drawing,
invites me to add colour.

I paint with meticulous care.

He says I’ve ruined the image
but won’t say how.

To me it looks beautiful.

SOB STORY

A teardrop took
all afternoon
to arrive
at the bottom
of my chin.

I noticed people
noticing its slow
progression

as if they pitied
the tear and
thought me cruel
for not crying
faster / putting
it out of its
misery.

FIN ART

I thought
you were opening the door
but now I see
I was playing the video backwards.

Poppy Cockburn is a writer based in Margate, UK. Her debut poetry book, Naked Oyster, was published by If a Leaf Falls Press in 2025 and longlisted for the Jerwood Prize for Best First Collection. Her second collection, Every time I meet you feels like doom, publishes with SARKA this October.