Waiting for You to Come Back by Zoë Sîobhan Howarth-Lowe

I am sat cross-legged.

I have turned out all the lights and am sitting quietly,
just as you like me –

my hair combed back, tied in a knot at the nape of my neck.
The floor is dirty, I am getting dust and dirt in my hair while I wait:
letting it ferment on me, letting it collect in the corners of my eyes.

I am sat cross-legged,
my face turned away from the door.

I have let a fly rest on me,
he is perched in my ear.
I am listening to him buzz.

I am waiting for the turn of the handle,
and the click of light flooding the room.
Your voice calling my name,
cursing the mess I have made.

I am waiting,
wail of sirens,
white cotton sheets.
I am waiting.

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Zoë Sîobhan Howarth-Lowe is a Poet and Mum from Dukinfield. She has an MA in Poetry from Bath Spa University. Her work has appeared in Magma, The Lake, Ink, Sweat and Tears, Picaroon Poetry and The Black Light Engine Room amongst others.