draw the curtains and
turn out the light
my son is dancing with
the dead.
contrarian orchards draw
dragons from the soil
multi-headed
plump with rain
bone smell of soil & red
in his hands like fire.
i am the stranger here
prismatic tooth grown sour
on a different fruit. he
appears and disappears
silent between the rooms.
he tells me that god
is with me. the ghosts
and demons too.
crystals in his hands, his
language shyly
excited by the dark.
jw summerisle is an autistic poet from the English East Midlands. once commended by and once a winner of the Foyles Young Poets of the Year award, they have two chapbooks in print: kinfolk (Black Sunflowers Poetry Press, 2022), and the book of bad mothers (Back Room Poetry, 2024).
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