nerve

I duck my head when the moon is low.
my hushed-counterpart takes shallow breaths
I fracture, dig, accelerate, allow
I eat the idea of him
& it cuts my stomach

I laugh & I lose.
the yellow-bellied horizon is bursting
with wildflowers and intestinal storm clouds
my body is a raw, exposed nerve pink in a nest
of dark, curling leaves and branches.

Elliot Harley McKenzie

Elliot McKenzie (they/them) is a poet who lives in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Their
poems have previously been published in Starling, Tarot, Sweet Mammalian and
Ōrongohau | Best New Zealand Poems. This year their poem won the given words National Poetry Day competition. Their poetry is inspired by love, heartbreak, queer identity, ecology and visual art.