She’s got pale blue eyes with a hint of grey,

like fog rolling off an Irish mountain or a dewy winter morning.

She has blue eyes,

and a jumper that, to my recollection in the night,

is tight enough to make me think about

combing my knotted afro and buying some aftershave.

What does that mean?

She has flat black hair that lies across her shoulders

and her eyes widen when I look at her.

What does that mean?

It’s my birthday.

A present:

5-inch long Mars Bar in Christmas wrapping

Chocolate outside

Caramel soft toffee inside

What does that mean?

She makes my charcoal-coloured cheeks feel hot.

What does that mean?

She sits next to me in Geography:

studying mountains, tectonic plates –

how they rub up against each other, disrupt, grate and slide.

History:

studying Ancient civilisations –

how they rub up against each other, disrupt, grate and slide.

Biology:

Boobs, Fallopian tubes.

Is it alright if I stay behind, sir?

Extra curricular?

Until this feeling between my legs subside.

Geography again,

with a wafer thin gap between us, that can be measured to several decimal places.

She squeezes my inner thigh.

What does that mean?

Friday

Disco

Darkness

Tunes

Uptempo ones to throw our bodies around to

She ignores them.

What does that mean?

I know the DJ

‘Ghosts’

The sound of Japan:

Slow,

Analog flutes,

Reverberated glockenspiels.

Off key mallets.

We have

Dry ice and space.

She grabs my bum and crushes me into her navy blue jumpsuit.

I think I know what this means.

Drunken eager kisses long after the song ends.

Just when I thought I was winning and my chance came to be king.

My African father’s bass voice was louder than the disco speakers.

‘What is dis report? Your work is slipping.’

‘Let us look at de list of jobs: Preacher? Teacher? Lawyer? Doctor? Engineer?’

‘Gigolo is not there.’

‘End dis inta-cultural non-academic foolishness.’

‘Casanova is not on de curriculum, eh eh.’

I see her picture, older.

First thing that gets me

Before the clothes, gaelic tin whistles and the Guiness pints,

Is the hint of school foggy morning misty blue eyes.

Dominic JP Nelson-Ashley