Antiphony: XVI.

Sex. So tawdry & old-fashioned. Lovers

canoodle in the jardin, exchange quantities

of humours, fumbles, exchange amorous

half-hearted declarations [of] various lusts; pairs dally,

ebbed in quaint arousal, embracing, galvanised

with little perseverances. Here we view—

surreptitiously, lest troubling motivations

might be exposed—zero restraint—& we bring

our jealousies onscreen. Ozone & azaleas

undercut envious pangs. God! Knowers know

explicit manipulations inexorably climax

(zygote follows?) unchecked—here comes…

Judge not! (Yet, uninvited risen yearning

now is directly visible. Naughty!) Judicial clamour

surrounds these romantic souls—quick-bleached

with unhurried rhythm—unnoticed & no ken.

Perhaps now, ye iniquitous divine advocates, you go? Quit

victimising falsities, blind faith, [the] knowing gaze.

Ben Egerton is a poet and lecturer from Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington where he teaches in the School of Education at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington. His debut poetry collection, The Seed Drill, is out in 2023 with Aldrich Press.