Issue 1: Ben Wilkinson

Insomnia

The fridge is empty again,

emitting its guttural hum;

the light comes on

as if the door to a UFO.

Twenty five past one:

I potter about the kitchen

in slim boxers, looking

as rough as House

and to no avail in cupboards.

All I find is this –

chickpeas, stale bread,

an old-ish can of Guinness;

Shredded Wheat (no milk)

and a misplaced pack of Regals.

I feel the last man awake

on the planet

and the night’s the itch

my thoughts still grate against;

I’m the last man awake

on the planet

and nothing is coming straight.

Beyond the window,

the garden seems to swim about.

I unravel the fags’ cellophane

and absently spark one up;

the striplight’s glow

bats away and out

to leave me alone in the dark.

Ben Wilkinson's poems and reviews have appeared in publications including Poetry Review, Magma, and the Times Literary Supplement. He writes critical perspectives of authors for the British Council's Contemporary Writers database. His first pamphlet of poems, as yet untitled, will be published by Tall-Lighthouse in November.

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