‘Cusp’ by David O’Hanlon

 
Cusp

It was taken by James that first summer.
The angle’s pretty low
but you can still see the river:
that thin dark crack through the background.
We’re both sat cross-legged –
me knotting grass, you saluting the sun –
our knees almost touch
like God’s hand and Adam’s…

I use it as a bookmark (for now
it marks my whereabouts in Fournier’s
Lost Estate) because with each look,
each dose of it, my tolerance increases.
It has a few nicks, a few folds.
It’s about to begin to fade.
 
David O’Hanlon is a writer based in Northumberland with recent work in The Ofi Press, Ink Sweat & Tears and Material, and forthcoming from Dream Catcher and an anthology from Appletree Writers.