Bohdan Piasecki

Bohdan Piasecki



Cat’s Cradle

I rearrange  a labyrinth        avoid eye
contact with the rest        look at my
phone instead         check how I should
spend the next three decades        however
long I have left        I scream a formal letter
at my children        DEAR SIR OR MADAM I AM WRITING
TO EXPRESS MY DISSATISFACTION        I forget
why but I mean still        I have worked hard
to deny the knife       PLEASE CONSIDER THIS
MESSAGE MY FORMAL RESIGNATION        stare down
opponents when I move a pawn        sweat through my shirt
when the doorbell rings        how can I be sure
no-one will get hurt





BOHDAN PIASECKI is a poet and translator from Poland based in Birmingham. His poem ‘Almost Certainly’ is shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Single Poem – Performed in 2023. Bohdan teaches Creative Writing at the University of Birmingham.