Excerpt from The Hunger (LRB 54) by Raindog (RD Armstrong) - published by the Lummox Press.

Life Before the Ice Age

I almost fell in love
With her as I was leaving
The light of early morning
Flooded across her bed
And I knew she was naked
Under the covers
Everything was in slow
Motion and crackling with
Static electricity as I
Took her hand to say goodbye
A shudder moved across me
Like a shockwave
I kissed her hand
Palm-up
And felt her fingers
Quiver on my cheek almost
Imperceptibly
Even her dog knew
Something was up

As I headed for the front door
I knew I had to keep walking
To my car and get in and drive away
Because if I didn’t
I would be smitten
There could be no turning back
This time