You peel my clothes off
You peel my layers.

Each thinner than the next.
Till you’ve exposed me.

My inner part. My flesh.
Raw, ripe and ready.

Blurry vision,
I’ve made you cry.

Be careful.

My scent will cling to you.
Your fingers.

You
Are like a flame. And I am highly combustible household furniture.

And so you move close to me, and touch me.
And set me on fire.

Slowly,
Then all at once

You multiply and engulf me in your love, in you. All of you.

And we burn
A beautiful hot blaze, wrapped in desire and hunger

And we burn
Illuminating the room, the house, the street.

And we burn, your flames multiply and grow and we are tangled in heat and desperation.

And we ignore the: warning highly flammable sign

And dance till we’ve scorched through the floor,
Leaving burnt out embers

You consume me, all of me.

You search my heart, my soul, my body. A house, room to room

Stealing all my possessions,
All my highly flammable household furniture

And I let you.
I watch your flames dance to me and I feel your heat.

And I let you burn me. Enveloped in the pleasure of your flames I burn.

Hot. Desire. Hot.

Until you’ve burnt through it all.

Left my reflection a wobbling photo of grief.

Exhausted. No more oxygen to eat on.
Just C 0 2.

No more me and you.

And I’m just a shell. A frame.
Filled with burnt furniture

And black.

Tiny cheesecake
You are such a delight
A tiny morsel
Three bites all mine
Once I find that pesky fork of mine

No matter how
Full you are,
There's always a
Place for
Dessert.

Yesterday was a grilled cheese
Cheesy, hot, delicious, and simple

Today is boring
A chicken cutlet on a hero
With nothing on it

The next day is not what I ordered
I taste ketchup and mayonnaise
In my turkey, egg, and cheese on a roll
I could’ve changed it,
But threw it away instead

The day after that
A tuna on whole wheat sliced bread
I got it on a hero instead
Since I wasn’t that hungry,
I shared half of my sandwich
With a homeless person
Not like I had anyone else
To eat with

After that day
Was a PB n J
Only I tasted no jelly
Not sweet. Not a big deal either.
Peanut butter and bread
Was good enough to carry on

Mummy sparrow leads her chick
Into the garden.
A fluffy baby bird
Shivering
Vulnerable
Beak wide open
Demanding food.

So mother duly catches a grub
To drop it into
That wide open
Clamouring mouth.

Meanwhile, indoors, mamma dog suckles
A crowd of pups
All clambering at her belly,
Grabbing *******
And ******* like there’s no tomorrow.

And in another house
Mother cat is feeding her kittens.
Indeed all around the world
All sorts of animals
Are getting fed by Mum.

But ah, I must stop writing.
My own Mum has called me to lunch:
Glorious stew and dumplings –
Dumplings so soft
With a hint of crust on some.
Followed by her tasty sponge
And custard.
Gran has helped her too
And brought us sweets
For later.

Mums and grandmas:
You can’t beat them.

Paul Butters

© PB 23\10\2020.

I dip my index finger into a cold butterscotch pudding,
closing my eyes as i bring it to my warm lips and a burst of surprising flavors enter onto my taste buds.
Sweet, Caramel oh so creamy....this is why i love my pudding.