Mistake
Gone one on leaving.
We went for lunch.
Some random Mexican.
No idea how we managed
refried beans and guacamole.
She’d wanted to see him,
come over to see him,
so I took her to see him.
It had been a fortnight
since I’d first seen him.
Wish I hadn’t arranged it.
Wish we hadn’t gone.
She was in a state and I was
horrified by time,
what two weeks could do.
We talked and we ate.
Even talked about other things.
Then we paid the bill,
and she took the bus
and I took the Tube.
…
Paul Stephenson has three pamphlets including Selfie with Waterlilies (Paper Swans Press, 2017). He co-curates Poetry in Aldeburgh and lives between Cambridge and Brussels. His debut collection will be published with Carcanet in 2023. Website: paulstep.com / twitter: @stephenson_pj / instagram: paulstep456
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