A Poem by Chris Beckett

We are sitting on a wall

by Lake Hakone
Isao and I

the water at our back
is shimmering

with sunshine
and a summer breeze

a large red temple gate
is almost lost in haze  

our shoulders touch, our hands
rest on our skinny knees

and we smile into the camera
that Akio is holding    

Akio who loved maturer men
with moustaches   loved them

so much that he died       but
we do not know this yet   

and many years after we do   
we laugh that Akio still loves us

even though we are too young
and do not have moustaches

Chris grew up in Ethiopia and has published two collections about his boyhood, both with Carcanet: Ethiopia Boy (2013) and Tenderfoot (2020). He also edited and translated the first anthology of Ethiopian poetry in English, Songs We Learn from Trees (Carcanet, 2020). He has won the Poetry London competition and been shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award.