A Minute


from the ABC set Safety goggles must be worn at all times

If you wouldn’t mind
sitting still,
just for a minute:
your hair would be a butterfly sanctuary,
white lichen would grow on your elbow
and moss at your knees,
the farmer would come
spraying her fertiliser
and you would swell
and the dew would glint
on your ripening chest
like smashed glass.
If you could just sit still long enough.

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