she finds you in the dark
drawn to the heat
you didn’t know
you were giving off
you say it’s always you

you wear
long sleeves in summer
I wear citronella
we walk through the meadow
midges and old lovers

I tell you
it’s because
you’re radiant
you say it’s because
you’re cursed

love bites
sometimes it swells
sometimes it scars
sometimes it leaves you fevered
scratching at memory

warm dusk
the itch of wanting
not to be wanted

Paul Conneally
Loughborough
July 2025