Expatiate

Leon Thompson



I can push

I can shove

I can manage

these words


I can give them great thought, I can be beautifully

sesquipedalian—or not at all. I can tremble

at times; And not say how I feel, That tremble

inside;

It’s like a magic cloak, it’s almost tragically

inhaling—that’s a heavy call, to weigh down

this fort.


I can rush

I can

stop this current rhyme

stop the moments I tend to try and not say the

worst, lust for the worst parts of myself for everyone

to fuck…if I want to put it that way…


I can choose to say I’m enough,

I’m allowed to choose what’s rough…and to feel the

pain of that, and to still feel you osculate me, in the

late night under moonlight or candlelight or however

we feel right.

I write this now, Evidently I feel very strongly,

and fondly

of you.


Leon Thompson is a poet and journalist from Dublin, Ireland. His upcoming debut collection ‘The Hair on my Legs’ boldly deconstructs traditional masculinity, delves into the intricacies of his familial relationships, and courageously interrogates the complexities of his sexuality, heritage and sense of belongingness within his own mind.


This isn’t just a poetry book. ‘The Hair on my Legs’ looks like a magazine, feels like a collage, and lands like a conversation you didn’t know you needed.


In the past, his poetry was featured in the stunning collection Glas na Gile in 2020 and most recently in Issue 03 of Abyss Literary Magazine where he works as Associate Editor.