I love you, darling tick, because you remind me of the trade
required to enjoy the land with just my skin, a truth
true since days of holy wells, where, to ask for aid,
you had to give something to the stone, a ribbon, proof
you knew the cost of healing. So, darling tick, to you I offer
the well behind the bone circle of my elbow;
drink, unravel my blood with a whisper, I prefer
this intimate toll to the shock of any short, sharp blow,
and though you caused a panic when I learned of your thirst,
I realise that without you, being with her is only heaven,
and what’s the use of light when there’s no shade first?
You are the reminder if we get lost in one field, or eleven,
we must return to the altars of our bodies, newly sure
in the search for you, we will gift touch, find our cure.

Luke Morgan’s second collection Beast was published by Arlen House 2022. His debut, Honest Walls was published in 2016