Olive Andrews Shares "loneliness moments" From Three-Part Poetry Series
loneliness moments
stir the cardamom into your tea and wait
think about weyes blood all day
love yourself silly
all the energy you’ve been searching for
in spring it’s early morning always
you’re out walking
hoping someone will tell you something
dark and heavy
you can sit with for a while
a song comes on about longing
go to a coffee shop and waste the afternoon away
writing nothing in your journal
just watching the pen needle loop
calling landlords
surprised when they’re expecting you
someone says hey three times you realize they’re
talking to you
blocking off the hallway
talking about endings
wondering when they’ll be real to you
the power’s out and it’s exciting
just you and the wood floor and the wind whistling
your boyfriend breathing heavy and the table shaking
finding warmth under duvet
peeling tape up from cardboard
turn your phone off for an hour
wishing the plums were sour
enough to make you pucker
it’s okay until your roommates leave for the weekend
just you and your cat running laps
the frantic dep employee
the neighbour you spot on your walk home from groceries
long enough to remember being 18 again
wrapped up in bed all day
you could have died in that apartment
no one would have noticed
Olive Andrews (they/them) is a poet living in Tiohtià:ke (Montréal). Instagram I Twitter
This is the first of three poems they’ll be sharing via Also Cool. Their work has been published in a number of magazines, including PRISM International and Plasma Dolphin. Their debut chapbook, rock salt, was published with Baseline press in 2020. They are currently interning at Canthius mag.
Artwork by Olivia Meek AKA Regularfantasy Instagram I Paintings I Design