A drone making a heat map
notes our concentration
and renders us united

pale yellow with a red aura
bleeding into black

Down here it’s our skin
that tracks heat, warm arms
push on each other

hips bump, eight thighs hold up
the canopy of our faces
turning to light

I respect your unnatural smile
You know best

Are our thighs shaking?
We’re overcoming everything
moment by moment

not falling backwards off the kerb

We will be here forever

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Merri Andrew’s poetry and short fiction can be found in Zero Readers, Guesthouse and Strange Horizons. She lives on Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country in Canberra, Australia. Twitter @MerriAndrewHere