Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Aidan Murphy

Accidental Blood

Accidental Blood

Accidental Blood

Last night
I came home
bloodstained.
As I was running
for the last tram
I went down
on my right side,
grazed fingers
knuckles, hip
and elbow;
nothing serious.

I ran a bath.
I soaked
in liquid heat
for half-an-hour.
How good it felt
after a long night
on the town to be
washing off
blameless,
shameless,
accidental blood.
How wonderful
not to wake
this morning with
a plum-bruised eye
or broken nose.
Close

Accidental Blood

Last night
I came home
bloodstained.
As I was running
for the last tram
I went down
on my right side,
grazed fingers
knuckles, hip
and elbow;
nothing serious.

I ran a bath.
I soaked
in liquid heat
for half-an-hour.
How good it felt
after a long night
on the town to be
washing off
blameless,
shameless,
accidental blood.
How wonderful
not to wake
this morning with
a plum-bruised eye
or broken nose.

Accidental Blood

Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Prins Bernhard cultuurfonds
Lira fonds
Versopolis
J.E. Jurriaanse
Gefinancierd door de Europese Unie
Elise Mathilde Fonds
Stichting Verzameling van Wijngaarden-Boot
Veerhuis
VDM
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère