Content warning: dysphoria.

Material Cohesion Has A Limit

My linen trousers tore today

As I sat down my jagged knee stretched
the material too far and they
burst at the crotch

Irony lapped at my waist
There’s a hole opening up
right where I want it to be

The repair is easy
I loop spare thread through
the lips of the tear to suture it closed

Artificially they’re the same but they
wear different, I feel the mocking
scar chafing my inner thigh
blush rises on my cheeks

I am not as malleable as cloth
but I repair the same way

About the author

Bramwell Griffiths writes cosy poems exploring gender, nature, and the irony of existence. Through close examination of lived environments, they bring colour to mundane situations revealing intensity beneath. Most often found inspecting trees for moss, you can also find them on Threads, Instagram, and at poetry events across the UK.