Tim Stobierski
poetry
Tim Stobierski writes about relationships, presented through the lens of his own experiences as a queer man. Recent poems are published or forthcoming in Chestnut Review, Gay & Lesbian Review, Midwest Quarterly, Chiron Review, Ghost City Review, Gathering of the Tribes, Crab Creek Review, and elsewhere. His first book of poems, Dancehall, was published by Antrim House Books in July 2023. Follow him on Instagram (@timstobierski) or at www.timstobierski.com.
Jellyfish
Growing up along the Sound,
we would occasionally come
across a lion’s mane or two
cast up on the shore—
great gelatinous globs
collapsing in on themselves
without any real structure or shape,
save a few frilled fronds of red
knotted together with seaweed
and baking in the sun.
What possessed me one day
to step onto that jellied mass,
I'll never fully know. I know
that I saw it, and I know
that I wanted you to love me
as I crumpled in the sand
cradling my chirping heel
and calling myself a fool.
Hold still, you said, pulling down
the waistband of your trunks,
I saw this on TV. It'll help.
“ My boyfriend and I use the word ‘jellyfish’ to refer to a very gentle type of caressing, where one’s fingers barely touch the other person’s skin, usually the back. I wanted to write a poem inspired by that touch, but it seems the poem had another idea. ”
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