Dorian David Leigh
@notdoriangray.bsky.social
Poet, mostly. Historian, cat and dog parent, hat wearer, coffee drinker. An imagination with a person attached. He/him/ia.
That fourth stanza is a killer. The poem could end on that – everything afterwards sort of pales in comparison. Maybe that's the point, though, that we peak long before we end. Definitely a poem to think about.
November 21, 2025 at 12:28 PM
That fourth stanza is a killer. The poem could end on that – everything afterwards sort of pales in comparison. Maybe that's the point, though, that we peak long before we end. Definitely a poem to think about.
And therein lies the beauty of the poem. It feels almost too simple on the surface, a collection of words and letters, but it makes sure that you know that there is more to it if only you cared (or dared) to look or dream.
November 21, 2025 at 12:14 PM
And therein lies the beauty of the poem. It feels almost too simple on the surface, a collection of words and letters, but it makes sure that you know that there is more to it if only you cared (or dared) to look or dream.
At first I wasn't sure if I liked this, despite the evocative language and the clever form it seemed flat and plain. But then I found it stuck in my mind, vivid and insistent and nagging. And that's what's left: the sadness that a life can be reduced to trinkets in a tin, hints of so much more.
November 21, 2025 at 12:14 PM
At first I wasn't sure if I liked this, despite the evocative language and the clever form it seemed flat and plain. But then I found it stuck in my mind, vivid and insistent and nagging. And that's what's left: the sadness that a life can be reduced to trinkets in a tin, hints of so much more.
Honestly, the dog has accompanied me to too many online lectures about horror movies.
November 21, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Honestly, the dog has accompanied me to too many online lectures about horror movies.
Love it. The poetry world needs more sex cannibalism. This is incredibly vivid and primal and raw, very few tricks here, just straightforward expression leaning heavily into the metaphor.
You should do more of this, it's a shame you only have the one poem of this nature when you can write that!!!
You should do more of this, it's a shame you only have the one poem of this nature when you can write that!!!
November 18, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Love it. The poetry world needs more sex cannibalism. This is incredibly vivid and primal and raw, very few tricks here, just straightforward expression leaning heavily into the metaphor.
You should do more of this, it's a shame you only have the one poem of this nature when you can write that!!!
You should do more of this, it's a shame you only have the one poem of this nature when you can write that!!!
Ooof, yep, I feel this. How trauma draws trauma, how trauma draws people who promise to heal us as a way of disguising more abuse. I love how you've articulated the awareness of being controlled through the metaphor of the TV remote. The straightforward anger, longing, and tension between.
November 18, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Ooof, yep, I feel this. How trauma draws trauma, how trauma draws people who promise to heal us as a way of disguising more abuse. I love how you've articulated the awareness of being controlled through the metaphor of the TV remote. The straightforward anger, longing, and tension between.
I love the contrast of hard and soft, the hard need of the opening line and the soft imagery that follows – feminine, birthing, bursting gently. Then implying a lifetime before ending with an end. It's quite lovely and lyrical and unexpected.
November 18, 2025 at 10:08 PM
I love the contrast of hard and soft, the hard need of the opening line and the soft imagery that follows – feminine, birthing, bursting gently. Then implying a lifetime before ending with an end. It's quite lovely and lyrical and unexpected.
I love the line, "our grey crater of asters," and how you've chosen to break it. It works fantastically. The poem really captures a moment but also feels incredibly nostalgic: the train and the eight days immediately evoke the Beatles for me. Love uncaring and leaving, love caring and present.
November 16, 2025 at 2:34 AM
I love the line, "our grey crater of asters," and how you've chosen to break it. It works fantastically. The poem really captures a moment but also feels incredibly nostalgic: the train and the eight days immediately evoke the Beatles for me. Love uncaring and leaving, love caring and present.
I really like it! The way the form captures moments like a box of photographs. The way it combines naivety with maturity. The way the empty spaces invite our imaginations to fill them. In places the poem reminds me of 'Wish' era The Cure, and that is not at all a bad thing!
November 16, 2025 at 2:30 AM
I really like it! The way the form captures moments like a box of photographs. The way it combines naivety with maturity. The way the empty spaces invite our imaginations to fill them. In places the poem reminds me of 'Wish' era The Cure, and that is not at all a bad thing!
I enjoyed this a lot, it plays with similar themes to what I do but in a very different way. "I want more than more: / Serve me things and flesh" is just perfect. I'm not sure what your poem says about consumption or need or loneliness or connection, but it says something and it makes me think.
November 16, 2025 at 2:25 AM
I enjoyed this a lot, it plays with similar themes to what I do but in a very different way. "I want more than more: / Serve me things and flesh" is just perfect. I'm not sure what your poem says about consumption or need or loneliness or connection, but it says something and it makes me think.
This poem really sings in the non-words: the spacing, the ampersands, the line breaks, the indents. It's very very cleverly integrated with the imagery the words create, and I think you should be very proud of what you've pulled off here.
November 16, 2025 at 2:21 AM
This poem really sings in the non-words: the spacing, the ampersands, the line breaks, the indents. It's very very cleverly integrated with the imagery the words create, and I think you should be very proud of what you've pulled off here.
I'm quite proud of 'opulent shudder'. 'Opulent' had been kicking around my brain for a while, I was intending to pair it with a body part, but I think this is better.
I think that last line is going to be fantastic to read aloud.
I think that last line is going to be fantastic to read aloud.
November 16, 2025 at 2:17 AM
I'm quite proud of 'opulent shudder'. 'Opulent' had been kicking around my brain for a while, I was intending to pair it with a body part, but I think this is better.
I think that last line is going to be fantastic to read aloud.
I think that last line is going to be fantastic to read aloud.
Emergency very minor but involved a lot of cleaning!
Thanks for your comments, I wasn't sure about some of the rhythmic aspects of the structure because they fell into the work at the last minute. I'm happy that they work for at least one person.
Thanks for your comments, I wasn't sure about some of the rhythmic aspects of the structure because they fell into the work at the last minute. I'm happy that they work for at least one person.
November 16, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Emergency very minor but involved a lot of cleaning!
Thanks for your comments, I wasn't sure about some of the rhythmic aspects of the structure because they fell into the work at the last minute. I'm happy that they work for at least one person.
Thanks for your comments, I wasn't sure about some of the rhythmic aspects of the structure because they fell into the work at the last minute. I'm happy that they work for at least one person.
Elijah kicked while I was doing his nails, I accidentally cut too deep, and when you do that they bleed an insane amount. Made it stop, then he licked at it while I wasn't looking and made it bleed again. Then walked all through the house. Had to clean all the floors, it was like a slasher film.
November 16, 2025 at 2:10 AM
Elijah kicked while I was doing his nails, I accidentally cut too deep, and when you do that they bleed an insane amount. Made it stop, then he licked at it while I wasn't looking and made it bleed again. Then walked all through the house. Had to clean all the floors, it was like a slasher film.
I'll buy you a drink.
November 14, 2025 at 6:23 PM
I'll buy you a drink.
The good news is that all the health bad is a side effect of one of my medications, and now I have stopped taking it and I am getting better very quickly. Quick enough to be able to make Coherent Comedy this month, but maybe have an ambulance on standby in case of Chris and, uh... Shorts?!?
November 2, 2025 at 1:04 PM
The good news is that all the health bad is a side effect of one of my medications, and now I have stopped taking it and I am getting better very quickly. Quick enough to be able to make Coherent Comedy this month, but maybe have an ambulance on standby in case of Chris and, uh... Shorts?!?
So rest. Your best is yet to come.
October 28, 2025 at 12:42 AM
So rest. Your best is yet to come.
But first, I had to rest. I had to hit pause. I had to recover myself, and to do that I needed the right people and things and resources around me. It takes time for everything to fall into place. It's okay for you to take up all the time you need. You didn't fail. You're resting.
October 28, 2025 at 12:42 AM
But first, I had to rest. I had to hit pause. I had to recover myself, and to do that I needed the right people and things and resources around me. It takes time for everything to fall into place. It's okay for you to take up all the time you need. You didn't fail. You're resting.
I stopped writing for over ten years. I was in a shitty situation: insecure, unsupported, unsafe, outside of my community, and with no room to take risks. When I got out and started to recover some of those things, the words came back in force in a way I never thought was possible.
October 28, 2025 at 12:42 AM
I stopped writing for over ten years. I was in a shitty situation: insecure, unsupported, unsafe, outside of my community, and with no room to take risks. When I got out and started to recover some of those things, the words came back in force in a way I never thought was possible.
What you are right now is resting. Healing. And that is an okay thing for you to be. No matter how long it takes you to recover yourself and your need to create, it will never be too late to start again. There's always another chance. Always.
October 28, 2025 at 12:42 AM
What you are right now is resting. Healing. And that is an okay thing for you to be. No matter how long it takes you to recover yourself and your need to create, it will never be too late to start again. There's always another chance. Always.
We've been sold a lie, that all an artist needs is passion. It isn't true. Artists need support, community, safety, security, and the freedom to be able to take risks. The vast majority of those people don't have most of those things right now. And not having them burns you out.
October 28, 2025 at 12:42 AM
We've been sold a lie, that all an artist needs is passion. It isn't true. Artists need support, community, safety, security, and the freedom to be able to take risks. The vast majority of those people don't have most of those things right now. And not having them burns you out.