Romeo and Juliet
are eating donuts in central London.
They each have a wireless headphone in one ear
and their trainers are whiter than icing sugar.
It’s raining but their hoods don’t care.
Juliet’s puffer jacket is
thicker than a stab proof vest
and Romeo’s lips are jam and stubble.
They’re not talking with their mouths full
and I can hear their hearts inventing language.

© Carl Burkitt 2023