Poem: what’s in a name (that’s not my name)

it doesn’t matter what I call you
peter-paul-joseph-aleksandr-potemkim

all I know is that when you said
you were leaving without any further delay
and I brushed your cheek with feathered fingers,
a sparrow-hawk fearing its prey would fly –
your anger flayed me

I might be giselle, but to you that day
I was chardonnay-bethany-britney-sharon
a pony-tailed kitten with unlikely cleavage
a whisper of ribbon, a pretty pink paperclip

my name is margaux-desert-orchid
anna-magnani-lollobrigida
I wear dark glasses, my jeans are tight
and I’m spilling over the top of my bra
for you for you for you for you –

oh, peter-paul-joseph-eugene-onegin
slip back into my life tonight
between my sheets my thighs my lips

before I forget your name

About Catherine Edmunds

Catherine is a poet, novelist and illustrator from North East England. Her solo poetry collection, 'wormwood, earth & honey', and her second novel, Small Poisons, are available from Circaidy Gregory. ‘what’s in a name (that’s not my name)‘ was a finalist for the Fleeting Magazine Short Writing Competition and was nominated for Best of the Net 2011.

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