for him

*

wafts of smoke and apples

custard, autumn, damp, decay

forgotten roses over blown

black berries blet away

rubber hot on tarmac

methane, lactose, chips and fires

smears of leaves of shedding trees

made ghosts beneath his tyres

the thrust, the thrill, the shuddering

sensation of vibration

illegal speed, adrenaline

such dangerous elation

accelerating recklessness

in swerve, in weave, in chase

catching breath and missing beats

defying time and space

the fear of death, of love, of life

a shadow’s blink, a distant call

my lover has a nose for speed

and I am in my lover’s thrall

what madness is this motorbike

this dark and risky wild delight

unworldly joy, insanity

mortality in flight

*

by Gail