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  1. Culture
  2. Poetry
19 November 2016

Poem in which I practice happiness

A new poem by Joe Dunthorne.

By Joe Dunthorne

Photo by Getty Images

I love pigeons even
when their claws are stumps
and they walk as though in heels.
I love guinea pigs
for the idea they are in some way
a pig. Their heartbeats make their bodies
vibrate. I like to pretend
to answer them. Whom may I say is speaking?
I love football. More people love football
than love social justice
but that doesn’t mean football
isn’t brilliant. Whenever I head the ball
I feel a poem evaporate.
            I hate the bit of the poem
            where you’re obliged
            to hate something.
I love the piano.
I love true crime.
I love the sun
when it arrives
like a tray
of drinks.

Joe Dunthorne’s novels include Submarine, which was made into a film, and Wild Abandon (2011). He was made a Faber New Poet in 2010.

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This article appears in the 16 Nov 2016 issue of the New Statesman, Trump world

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