These hoops!
I am too big to jump through
them – my hips bump into
the sides and oops
they’ve clattered down
like fences do in storms.
Stop sending me forms
to fill that don’t matter. I won’t be shown
where to sign
or feel forced to report
the details of my falling short.
I’ll doodle on the dotted line
dreaming of bars
low enough to step over
and laughing at the giver
of gold stars.
Erica McAlpine is an associate professor of English at the University of Oxford. Her books include “The Poet’s Mistake” (Princeton University Press) and “The Country Gambler” (Shearsman)
[See also: The NS Poem: The Girl]
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This article appears in the 22 Nov 2023 issue of the New Statesman, The paranoid style