LGBTQ+ Poem: Window, Honeybourne Road, by Rakesh Sharma

On this unseasonably cold June afternoon
my door to the balcony frames
a grid of windows and doors
in the building opposite.
We are Harvard, they are Yale,
I wish I could tell you why.

Through the cherry tree leaves, its blossoms thinning,
my daily surveillance: a magpie nest
and a boy at his desk
working at his computer.

Formatting spreadsheets and decks,
clicking menu perhaps only to feel hungry,
or looking for escapes from cells —
maybe a trip to Cornwall?
The weather there must be lovely.

Once, he looked up and at me.
I looked away,
straight into my screen.

Cornwall must be wonderful
this time of year.