Introducing a new series of poems by Julian Matthews. Julian is a writer and Pushcart-nominated poet published in The American Journal of Poetry, Autumn Sky Poetry Daily, Borderless Journal, Beltway Poetry Quarterly, Dream Catcher Magazine, Live Encounters Magazine, Lothlorien Poetry Journal and The New Verse News, among others. He is a mixed-race minority from Malaysia and lived in Ipoh for seven years. Currently based in Petaling Jaya, he is a media trainer and consultant for senior management of multinationals on Effective Media Relations, Social Media and Crisis Communications. He was formerly a journalist with The Star and Nikkei Business Publications Inc
Link: https://linktr.ee/julianmatthews
By Julian Matthews
I need you like I need WD-40
I want to lubricate these rusted
feelings for you that I no longer trust
They creak inside me like the cranky
fan, that I am, sounding screechy
now and again, with every whirl of my
wounded blades
But I respect your boundaries–
any closer and I’d speak out of turn,
cut you up
Do you know we fans always rotate anti-clockwise?
Generating airflow downwards to cool you down
If it were the reverse – the other way around –
I’d suck up the warmth from you,
and spread it evenly around this space
The world would be a better place for it
I observe you from above, like an ignored deity,
blowing longings from my permanent perch
Sometimes you turn me on – and turn me up
You’re burning all over, the night is a furnace, you strip
Hot-air rises, heat is exchanged,
and I lose my cool
Everyone needs someone to watch over them
to fight fires, douse out the flames, yet stay lit
You look up – see me – and I feel seen
Your hair flutters, eyes shut slowly,
and drift off
Love is never a transaction but with you and me,
it’s a wind-win relationship
Will you ever tire of my spin?
First published in the online literary journal Chewers by Masticadores, USA.
