walking bishop back to moonlight by john compton

walking bishop back to moonlight

i foreclosed on two homes & a lover

then found this man
with thick brown hair, scalp buried
beneath a jungle—

with a mind, black as a night full of rain.

filled with ghosts, from east & west,
he animated & elevated
into a manic suitor
which called       to me      like a siren’s mouth.

we made temptation into a game:
our bodies confided,
knowing we already knew
how to play,

though by the end
forgetting
the other’s name:

i let him leave a mystery.

*

john compton (he/him) is a gay poet who lives with his husband josh and their dogs and cats. he is the poet with 14 published chapbooks/books, with the latest book: the castration of a minor god (Ghost City Press; december 2022) and next chapbook: melancholy arcadia (Harbor Editions; april 2024)