“When did your name
change from a proper noun
to a charm?
Its three vowels
like jewels
on the thread of my breath.
Its consonants
brushing my mouth
like a kiss.
I love your name.
I say it again and again
in this summer rain.
I see it,
discreet in the alphabet,
like a wish.
I pray it
into the night
till its letters are light.
I hear your name
rhyming, rhyming,
rhyming with everything.
"Name”
― Rapture
change from a proper noun
to a charm?
Its three vowels
like jewels
on the thread of my breath.
Its consonants
brushing my mouth
like a kiss.
I love your name.
I say it again and again
in this summer rain.
I see it,
discreet in the alphabet,
like a wish.
I pray it
into the night
till its letters are light.
I hear your name
rhyming, rhyming,
rhyming with everything.
"Name”
― Rapture
“Then he started his period.
One week in bed.
Two doctors in.
Three painkillers four times a day.
And later a letter to the powers-that-be
demanding full-paid menstrual leave twelve weeks per year.”
― Selected Poems
One week in bed.
Two doctors in.
Three painkillers four times a day.
And later a letter to the powers-that-be
demanding full-paid menstrual leave twelve weeks per year.”
― Selected Poems
“Uninvited, the thought of you stayed too late in my head,
so I went to bed, dreaming you hard, hard, woke with your name,
like tears, soft, salt, on my lips, the sound of its bright syllables
like a charm, like a spell.
Falling in love
is glamorous hell; the crouched, parched heart
like a tiger ready to kill; a flame's fierce licks under the skin.
Into my life, larger than life, beautiful, you strolled in.
I hid in my ordinary days, in the long grass of routine,
in my camouflage rooms. You sprawled in my gaze,
staring back from anyone's face, from the shape of a cloud,
from the pining, earth-struck moon which gapes at me
as I open the bedroom door. The curtains stir. There you are
on the bed, like a gift, like a touchable dream.
"You”
― Rapture
so I went to bed, dreaming you hard, hard, woke with your name,
like tears, soft, salt, on my lips, the sound of its bright syllables
like a charm, like a spell.
Falling in love
is glamorous hell; the crouched, parched heart
like a tiger ready to kill; a flame's fierce licks under the skin.
Into my life, larger than life, beautiful, you strolled in.
I hid in my ordinary days, in the long grass of routine,
in my camouflage rooms. You sprawled in my gaze,
staring back from anyone's face, from the shape of a cloud,
from the pining, earth-struck moon which gapes at me
as I open the bedroom door. The curtains stir. There you are
on the bed, like a gift, like a touchable dream.
"You”
― Rapture
“Now no discourse, except it be of Love;
Now I can break my fast, dine, sup and sleep
Upon the very naked name of Love.”
― The Two Gentlemen of Verona
Now I can break my fast, dine, sup and sleep
Upon the very naked name of Love.”
― The Two Gentlemen of Verona
Our Shared Shelf
— 223228 members
— last activity 1 hour, 57 min ago
OUR SHARED SHELF IS CURRENTLY DORMANT AND NOT MANAGED BY EMMA AND HER TEAM. Dear Readers, As part of my work with UN Women, I have started reading ...more
Pauline’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Pauline’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
Pauline hasn't connected with her friends on Goodreads, yet.
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by Pauline
Lists liked by Pauline















