luke otley

The Blacksmith

the hammerthe horseshoe the iron the heat the barrel the water the rushing release the strain the brow the eyes …

Something about butterflies

Always small rooms and square, white places, limited possessions gatheredup, unpacked and packed again every few years. You betsomeone probably …

Tea leaf

The tea leaf swirlsout the spout, birthedinto the mug – it’s amazingto see how it’s grown,I’m so proudI could cry, …

Old shirt

And here’s my old shirt, blue and green with busted holes two, three, no, four buttons blown away – bounced …

On not getting the job

Beyond disappointment; I saw real fear in the tears of flashes of future cold as hands on bed-warm thighs; of …

Control

I like to imagine it as an idea rumbled in, wrapped around the rungs of a thundering chariot’s wheel, smuggled …

Another self-centred poem

I tried being a deadbeat alcoholic junkie, the nights got longer and the world darker and much smaller. After I …

A relatively young man

The defence counsel said after reading his antecedents (16 convictions from 25 charges) “The Defendant is 27, still a relatively …

Spring poem

I’m outside, on the corner slate flower bed purple as burst plum, conjures mother, leant, exhausted on the speckled countertop, jousting …

7 Portraits in under 70mins

I was aiming for 5min portraits but I ended up going a bit longer… Definitely a really good exercise and …

I can’t figure it out

The relationship between this desk, these keys, that glass bottle there, touchable things, reassuring in the way they push against …

Poem For A Haemorrhaged Frog

Something about you broke my heart. Something subtle stung me in the way you moved around that pond in the brick …

A Poem For An Old Laptop

You were always petite, with your thirteen inch screen sometimes I had to squint to catch the fine print, though …

These Days

These days I hurry to keep myself in sight. Profile glances into restaurant windows often whisper me warnings. Ripples and …