Hedgehog's Dilemma
One cold winter’s day, a number of porcupines huddled together quite closely in order through their mutual warmth to prevent themselves from being frozen. But they soon felt the effect of their quills on one another, which made them again move apart. – Arthur Schopenhauer
Your profile bio is ‘(prickly) pig
seeks company on a cold, blustry evening’
so of course all you get in the replies
are other quills seeking an inkpot.
The way I see it
there are two options:
snap off a spine and start carving
into the screen, or
place little
corks
on the end
of all your
pricks.
You’re in the city, you’re trying to sleep,
but the street animals
are at the bottom of your close
screaming
harder daddy
at the top of their lungs.
Two hogs looking for a third,
must have access
to some stiff spikes
and a large number of plasters.
I know how this looks —
me with my ankles up by my head —
but it’s the only way
I can ball up close for you.
Stuart Rawlinson (he/him) is a queer writing living in Glasgow, where he works as a software developer. His writing often explores queer experiences, and the influence of technology, or occasionally both. Previous work of his can be found in Impossible Archetype, Gutter, SPAMzine, and A Queer Anthology of Rage (Pilot Press, 2018), among other places. His micro-chapbook ‘main args’ is available as part of the Ghost City Press’s 2021 Summer Series. He is on twitter and instagram at @averagegatsby_
