Raoul Fernandes
An Ache in the Knot
if there’s a shortness in the breath of the lungs
if there’s an ache in the muscles of the arm
if there’s a knot in the shoulder and a soreness
in the throat if there’s a redness in the eye
and a twitch in the lid if there’s heat in the forehead
or sweat in the sheets if there’s weakness in the knees
or a hunger in the gut if a clutch of the fist
a ringing in the ear a chill to the touch or a sprain
of the wrist a shock to an elbow a swell in the bruise
a cut in the skin a skip in the heart if there’s love
in the inhale or love in the exhale if we are making amends
if there’s a mending of the bodies that rend
if we tend to each other in the dimming room
if there is an ache in the knot undone
Raoul Fernandes‘ poems have been previously published in PRISM International, The Malahat Review, subTerrain, CV2, Poetry Is Dead, among others. In 2010 he was a finalist for the Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers, and a runner-up for subTerrain‘s 2013 Lush Triumphant Award. He is an editor for the online poetry journal The Maynard (themaynard.org) and his first collection is forthcoming from Nightwood in Spring 2015.
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