The Bed
It feels so small at first
like a full-size bed
or even a twin, the two of you
smashed together, his body
draped around yours
or yours around his
like a duvet filled with
the feathers of each other’s
breathing, no room
& no need for another
square inch of space
between you. Then winter
turns to spring & summer
& all either of you can stand
is a thin cotton sheet
barely touching the skin
in this sweltering room
& the bed swells to king-size
at least, a vast & perilous
& all but impassable
continent. By late autumn
the nights are cold again
& the bed has grown as big
as the world & you’re in it
alone, frozen in place
on the same side as always,
naked & shivering.
19 thoughts on "The Bed"
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What a wonderful poem, I love the whole relationship playing out through the physicality of sharing a space. Beautiful language throughout this, too. Nice one, Kevin.
Wow!
This looks so dang good on the page
and the line breaks,subject ideation, and imagery are so spot on.
Great poem.
I liked it
Perfect! I love the duvet filled with the feathers of each other’s breathing.
Yep. I loved the duvet reference, too. But what I love most is the bed that is as alive as the world, expanding and contracting with the seasons. I have felt that way myself. Lying in bed at night, my wife at my side. Basset sleeping at the foot, and my daughter crawls in. My whole world is in that bed at such moments. This poem captures that feeling. Well done.
The two of you smashed together. A powerful image.
I’m speechless. This poem is going to stay with me for a long time.
Nicely done. I love the way this poem moves. Love this duvet filled with the feathers of each other’s breathing.
I like how you created a sense of passage of time with the changing of the seasons. Also showing how intimacy and distance can be intertwined, great poem, Kevin!
This is so well done!
hauntingly beautiful Kevin. Love the form and the content. Brava!
i like how dark this goes
The title makes me think of the de Maupassant story, “The Necklace”
Well done! Beautiful and sad images all tell a story.
yes, the bed can be the universe, can’t it?
It’s beautiful on the page. My favorite lines:
“his body
draped around yours
or yours around his
like a duvet filled with
the feathers of each other’s
breathing”
tour de force
putting love in nature”s cycle
love, like all life,,lives & dies
Wow! This one looks, sounds and reads so well!
like a duvet filled with
the feathers of each other’s
breathing, no room
These are lovely lines, so comforting, and such a contrast to the last naked & shivering. Sad.