Blood Work

Michael Black I gave them a vial of my blood,inside the small room.It was lost by the analyser.Whilstwe need a blood democracy hothouse,for now, it remains my blood.I let it be tested again and again. Michael Black is finishing a PhD at the University of Glasgow. He...

Tender Loving Care

Once I ran away from homeUntil my children cried out;They said the cupboard was bare.I opened my chest and showed them,Now they know there’s nothing there. Julia Ruth Smith is a teacher who lives by the sea in the South of Italy. She swims, writes, gets over-emotional...

Jude

Stephen Kingsnorth My title, Jude, you understand?If but a hardy soul, you should.Perhaps my verse is not your spacebut yours the access – trace my mind.Why can you not hear what I voiceand, taken plunge, still get it wrong?I’ll write, gazing in crystal ball -if...

Flutter and Wow

Jay Fraser Pulse-paced, shifting likeOil on glass; greased rainbow memoryAnd glistering sub-recollectionA wavering reproduction (shaking)Held up to hear (to inspect the sound)And know (once-heard aural death)To be (Passed from this world to haunt) Jay Fraser is a...

temple-body

let me be a holy habitationwhere your spirit is sentand mine, to die an endless deathlet me be what makes the rain freezeturns ocean into iceand clouds into moving smoke. Sloane Angelou is a storyteller & writer of West African origin; passionate about learning of...