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Marylebone Station 1974

The first man who cruised me was a policeman

in the half-light of a piss stink toilet

 

capless in half-light he grinned

there are so many layers to love

 

there are so many pretences of love

in the smile of a policeman I saw betrayal

 

betrayal is a language I learnt to read in

the stink of the toilet, the leer on his face

 

professional leer the teeth in his trap

me, fifteen, scared, wanting connection

 

connections between us could only end in

derision, shunning, prosecution, silence

 

I shunned the half-life of that piss stink toilet

the first man who cruised me was a policeman.


ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR

studied fine art at Bristol Polytechnic graduating in 1981 with a BA Hons degree in sculpture. He then made a career shift into broadcast television, becoming a freelance editor. Marius has worked on factual and entertainment shows, documentaries and feature films. Always interested in writing and story telling, Marius has written screenplays for film and television. Since 2016 he has been writing poetry and reading his work at open mic nights and latterly online. He has had poems published in the literary arts journal Dream Catcher, 192 Ezine, Allegro Poetry, The Ekphrastic Review, Dreich and The Storms.  

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