Tessa Foley

Jacky Death Stare

Me? I was doing lines with Jacky on the night that peace clucked out, 8 minutes to 8 in the afternoon, we gave a little pinch of rose rejection to each other’s bony chins, then twisted the knob on the wireless to hear Short sentences completed by his friends.

It was a good thing but terrible when he sneezed The papers blew themselves out to the fans, ribbons standing out as rippling erections And we leaned our heads into each other's to hear the outcome, the gritty verdict we could chew on.

I swear I heard a jingle when he pinched his nose one side, Curtains fell from each of his gists when he shook his ever decreasing bonsai , for blossoms created by the party’s frothy cooks, We tried not to let it blend in with the crystals, but somewhere a phone was ringing a hymn.

I ran the lines with Jacky and he scrounged his final soufflé out my ears with sovereigned claws, don't believe, he say, what the inky fingers say, I could never argue with a pretty girl ‘specially one with giant lips, I am the perfect gent.

Tessa Foley's debut poetry collection Chalet Between Thick Ears was published by Live Canon in 2018. She has been recognised in the Ware Poets Competition, Charroux Prize and Arts University Bournemouth Poetry Prize. Her new collection What Sort of Bird are You? was launched by Live Canon in May 2021. Website: www.tessafoley.com Instagram: @tessafoleypoet