The Biggest Surprise By Gwil James Thomas

We fucked, 

drank some more wine 

and shared a cigarette. 

I was no one, 

she was beautiful, funny 

and studying in London – 

originally from Sweden 

with Japanese parents 

I ran my fingers up 

her torso and brushed 

against a nipple – 

her skin still salty 

from after she’d told me 

that she’d fuck me 

if we went skinny dipping 

on Brighton beach 

and I’d got undressed 

on that pebbled beach 

in record time. 

She then found my

notebook and started 

reading some poems – 

you should write a poem 

about tonight, 

write a poem about me! 

she said, 

before screwing her face – 

ah, there’s no point, 

you won’t see me again – 

but I told you we’d have 

a great night she continued

and I had and I didn’t  

see her again either

and that was years ago 

and looking back now

the biggest surprise of all,

is that it’s taken me 

this long to write her 

memory into 

a fucking poem.  

Gwil James Thomas is a poet, novelist and inept musician. He lives in his hometown of Bristol, England but has also lived in London, Brighton and Spain. He has been nominated twice for Best of The Net and once for The Pushcart Prize. His ninth chapbook of poetry Gold Chains Around Necks, Hellhounds at Our Heels, will be published by Holy & Intoxicated Publications in 2022.