A poem inspired by the patron saint of Dubrovnik, written in the City on 25th July, 2022
Draw out the bones that choke,
Jarring bones,
Fleshless, scratching.
I swallowed them fast as a fish,
Tongue, throat,
Twisting and warping
Those same words that flowed
from you, easy as the Jordan,
Undammed but brutalised bare,
—to the bones—
and still pouring like sweat.
Draw out your bones,
Scarring bones,
rattling, catching,
and let me draw the empty air,
thin from the tomb.