Physical by Andrew McMillan

Physical

Andrew McMillan

Written without punctuation, or adhering to traditional structure, these poems vary from humorous observations to moving descriptions. Mostly about masculinity and what it means to be a man, there are moments of social observation and, as the title indicates, the poems are very physical in nature with strong, powerful imagery. Although the style is initially challenging the language is easy to read, and the experience of doing so is rewarding.

Extract
and with lovers when say on a Sunday
morning stretching into the bathroom
you wake to the sound of stream into bowl
and go to hug the naked body
stood with its back to you and kiss the neck
and taste the whole of the night on there
and smell the morning's pale yellow loss
and take the whole of him in your hand
and feel the water moving through him
and knowing that this is love the prone flesh
what we expel from the body and what we let inside

from Urination
Parallels
  • Crush by Richard Siken
  • Steep Tea by Jee Leong Koh
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Explicit sexual content