Kate Leah Hewett: October 2019 Poet of the Month

Photo: Joanna C. Valente

The Gaslight Inn Is Closed For Renovations

in your car with the a/c on max

i play dj

to the type of conversation

that will wind us forward

to days that are long

and the safety of knowing that

love

is

not

transactional

once

we tracked the cycle of the year on our bodies

dimpled march to freckled august

now we regret not stopping for pictures

as we pass the gaslight inn

which is still in business

despite its name

and though it makes us laugh

we keep going

because we have places to be today

and errands don’t stop for seeping regret

the sun is setting by the time we’ve finished our tasks

and by then we’re ready to make amends

so we take the detour

of maybe forty minutes

to return

for the photoshoot

where i make you stand next to the sign

and you flip the bird

mug for the camera

in that way that makes me sing

soon i’ll hand to you the words i’ve written

in which time travels in circles

and you get circles tattooed on your existing circles

and we are mountain people

all horizons

hilltops and possibility

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Kate Leah Hewett (she/her) is a queer poet, writer and live arts organiser based in Hudson NY. She arrived in Hudson from the North of England, where she spent a decade putting on shows in working men’s clubs, fields and roller discos and working with artists and musicians of many genres. She writes about queerness. Always. Kate is on Instagram at @kateleahhewett