MG Michael is an Australian poet and essayist who lives on the South Coast of New South Wales. He is inspired by the human condition and the possibilities of compassion. He has been previously published in a number of journals and anthologies, including Southerly, Westerly, Ulitarra, and Five Bells. He is also the author of Keepers of a Great Memory (Owl Publishing, Melbourne, 2015), a collection of his micro-stories. In 1995 he was awarded the New Poets Award from the editors of The Australian Anthology of New Poets.
That Evening
Love! Love until the night collapses! —Pablo Neruda
I loved you that evening with a love you will never know
Not that you are incapable of knowing, but some things
Whispered from the seat of the heart remain in the blood
Unable to escape the flesh even during those moments
When rapture takes on another meaning and very nearly
Explodes, like a molten alphabet onto your body
For us to then, together, speak in tongues born
From the leftover of a burnt orange fire . . .
Clementine Unbound 