In Defence of Adultery by Julia Copus

In Defence of Adultery

Julia Copus

There's more here than a collection of love poems - so don't be fooled by the title. The tone is quietly thoughtful, attuned to the shifts of personal experience. Works best if you read a few poems at a time.

Extract

Now through the dappled window,
Propped open slightly for the heat,
A light rain is composing
The lake it falls into, the way a lover's hand
Composes the body it touches - Love,
Like water! How it gives and gives,
Wearing the deepest of grooves in our sides
And filling them up again, ever so gently
Wounding us, making us whole.

from Love, Like Water

Parallels
  • Night Photographs by Lavinia Greenlaw
  • Kissing a Bone by Maura Dooley
  • Portrait of My Lover as a Horse by Selima Hill