STUART RAWLINSON

Is it Hot? Does it Look Good? Are You Proud to Serve it?

Is it a list of definitions
procured from a weathered,
second hand dictionary of art terms?
Does it involve chiaroscuro?
Are you crying right now?

Is it softly running a finger
over your lips? Does it kiss
behind your ear?
Are you often found
thinking about the curve of its spine?

Is it varnished?
Does it compel everyone who encounters it
to stop, to stop in their tracks,
and completely re-evaluate their life?
Are you thinking about giving up?

Is it moving?
Does it move you?
Are you making it move?

Is its theme or content
inherently problematic?
Does it look representative enough
for an imagined,
algorithm-derived audience?
Are you sufficient?

Is it hot?
Does it look good?
Are you ready for a stranger
to push their finger
inside its steaming centre?

Stuart Rawlinson (he/him) is a writer living in Glasgow, Scotland. Poems of his can be found in Magma, fourteen poems, Silly Goose Press, and Seaford Review, among other places. In 2022 he was selected as one of four mentees for the Clydebuilt 15 program, designed by St Mungo's Mirrorball.