Liam Bates

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His Echocardiogram Looks Good Now

When daytime predators clock off and
larger night-time hunters aren’t prepped yet,
they take the opportunity, the pipistrelles,
to wind a black helix through the evening.
I realise, while you’re sat warm inside
—my shift again to let the dog piss—
what the trick is. You have to look sidelong
to recognise the flicker of their silhouette:
attune to the lamplight’s yellow backing track
to notice the beat skip. And I smile,
scooping his mess into a poo bag, grateful
for restorative shocks. I know they’re catching
insects too slight for me to see, yet I can’t help
but think of them as revelling just to be
up there surrounded by the air.

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LIAM BATES is a poet originally from the Black Country. His most recent pamphlet Monomaniac is available from Broken Sleep Books. His debut collection Human Townsperson is released August 2022.