Poem
Andrew McMillan
strongman
strongman
strongman
my nephew asks if I can benchpress himhis mother’s new lover can and often does
my nephew who once said my boyfriend was illegal
my nephew with his dad’s voice and jaw
my nephew who now protests I had my hand
on his balls for the first attempt
I try again let both his wicket legs
rest against one palm put my other
to his heart and push because
what is masculinity if not taking the weight
of a boy and straining it from oneself?
here we are a man holding a boy above him
horizontal like an offering to the artex ceiling
not even a minor Greek would see as fit to sculpt
© 2015, Andrew McMillan
From: physical
Publisher: Jonathan Cape, London
From: physical
Publisher: Jonathan Cape, London
Andrew McMillan
(United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 1988)
Andrew McMillan is one of a brilliant generation of young British poets in their twenties, and also one of a growing number of British LGBT poets. His work has been called “electrifyingly fresh and lyrical” (David Morley) and “a glorious, vivid exploration of the body” (Michael Symmons Roberts). His first collection, Physical, was Poetry Book Society Recommendation for Autumn 2015, was shortlis...
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strongman
my nephew asks if I can benchpress himhis mother’s new lover can and often does
my nephew who once said my boyfriend was illegal
my nephew with his dad’s voice and jaw
my nephew who now protests I had my hand
on his balls for the first attempt
I try again let both his wicket legs
rest against one palm put my other
to his heart and push because
what is masculinity if not taking the weight
of a boy and straining it from oneself?
here we are a man holding a boy above him
horizontal like an offering to the artex ceiling
not even a minor Greek would see as fit to sculpt
From: physical
strongman
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