“The State of Me, Love, This” by Ashley Dunn

It has been 22 3 months

and I wake up incredulous with you again

(like you used to, actually),

but I’ll love you again

by lunch;

then they’ll be a tossing confusion

(this is stronger when I’m hungover),

but after a sandwich it’ll be greeting card love again:

tidy and ignorant;

then I’ll talk to you in my head,

or argue with, laugh at,

torment you (but you’re really tormenting me, aren’t you?),

then it’ll be that bottom-line love again;

and it’s testing and toing and froing,

and it ain’t achieving a lot,

and it ain’t poetic,

and it’s probably unhealthy

(probably medicalisable, too,

along with all their rest –

I mean,

look at the state of this).

Ashley is 33-year-old writer in Bristol, UK. He has been writing in the dark for years but is finally emerging as a poet, performer and poetry event host. He can be found at www.ashleydunnwriting.co.uk or @ashleydwriting on Instagram.