“1992” by Stuart Barnes

I watch queer features
late at night,
volume at zero
(the preachers may rise).

Late at night
in this airless hothouse
the preachers may rise;
I mustn’t be careless.

In this airless hothouse
bitterness prospers;
I mustn’t be careless,
I cannot unwind.

Bitterness prospers
in this living room;
I cannot unwind,
bitten peaches rot.

In this living room
I watch queer features
(bitten peaches rot),
volume at zero.

—

Stuart Barnes was born in Hobart, Tasmania, and educated at Monash University, Victoria. His debut collection, Glasshouses (UQP), won the 2015 Arts Queensland Thomas Shapcott Poetry Prize. Stuart lives in Central Queensland and is poetry editor for Tincture Journal. His website is https://stuartabarnes.wordpress.com/; he tweets @StuartABarnes.