by Anna Kahn

Tonight is for men who sing joyfully out of tune;
men who smile as they pull me close and laugh

as they set me spinning topfast and giddy; skilled men
who peacock entirely for my pleasure, all mischief,

all tight velocity. Even the bouncer knows me, scans for me
on the floor. The man with whom I am dancing

is not a bad dancer but he disagrees with me
on how impressive I ought to be finding him.

I watch the corners of his mouth turn down as he turns me.
I watch one of this evening’s acquaintances

let go his partner’s hands to circle her.
I watch her tip her head back and wind. They are lit up.

My partner and I step politely around each other.
After this song I will find someone else and be beautiful.

Anna Kahn | @AnnaCarlaKahn | scribblingbadger.wordpress.com 

Anna Kahn is the host of the Unfinished Edits podcast. She’s a Barbican Young Poet and a former member of the Roundhouse Collective. Her work has been published by The London Magazine, Right Hand Pointing and The Rialto, amongst others. By day she does something inexplicable in tech.