Poetry
All works by Emily Holyoak, 2020
PEOPLE
Anyone can hurt.
Because People.
Communication is key.
Dead People.
Everyone weeps.
Fake People.
Gratitude is central.
Hate People.
Innovation is thrilling.
Junk People.
Kill with kindness.
Leave People.
Make someone’s day today.
Never People.
Opportunities lie ahead.
Poor People.
Question born beliefs.
Racist People.
Say something lovely.
Touch People.
Undo the hurt.
Victimize People.
Whatever the heart wants.
X People.
Yell off of a mountaintop.
Zealous People.
WALL BETWEEN US
Fleabag confessing
the sins that she’s ever committed, even the past 60 seconds
Hot Priest, drunk like a heathen
listening with intent, increasingly interesting
The tears begin to flow, regret begins to show
Silence as piercing as a scream
She kneels
the floor marking up her shins
He draws the velvet line
the forbidden desire climbs with the devil’s temperature
temptation so sweet, so taboo
attraction to God’s light
carnal sin, thrust upon them
moonlight cracks through glass
caught in a twist, Hot Priest desists
Don’t ever visit the church again.
BEYOND THE YELLOW BRICK BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
In the dark corners of society where nobody looks, Elton John and Freddie Mercury have teamed up as crime-fighting, fabulous detectives. Using their pianos of justice, they fly on rainbows in drag and ascend in a cloud of hairspray and feather boas. Their secret den is underneath Buckingham Palace, where they eavesdrop on their royal highnesses and plot their lascivious parties when they’re off the clock.