Juice Pulp
There’s a bitter taste in my mouth, weighing heavy on my tonguelike my heart against my ribs,like the kind that is swiped from lips after drinking juice,thick in the morning as it swirls in the glass, pulp falling to the bottom, in its sodden state. The taste of juice in the morning,when your mouth is unclean, and your mind is buzzing, all I hear is … Continue reading Juice Pulp
Where does it take you?
I won’t be found on Broomfield Road, racing through the car park bay.Nor pacing over distant hills,my Darling, I’m a world away. Though onlookers count her present, blind of what’s inside,something in your beady mindbore witness to a change in mine. You see straight through my translucent skin, stretched on its chiselled frame;a window through which tendons, tense,plea to ping ’til the pain’s gone lame. … Continue reading Where does it take you?
Carrion
Strangest thing, it was, the strangest thing. Wouldn’t have believed it if I’d heard it from somebody else but, ah, there you go, that’s the way things happen, sometimes, innit? I was on clean up. Some old biddy-some posh old biddy, she’d come down with the Cough. Her relatives had all been taken care of, course. I don’t imagine it was too pleasant for them. … Continue reading Carrion
The Intruder
I couldn’t quite make out who it was through the rain-drenched window, but someone was talking to mum. A man, I thought, noting the deep, disparate tone that reverberated through the thin walls of the conservatory. Though I was surprised and, being worn down by the long, monotonous summer, strangely intrigued by this, I remained lying in the leather sofa, hunkered down as if drowning … Continue reading The Intruder
Hollow
I’m feeling a little hollowKnock, and you’ll hear an echoLean too hard and I’ll crumble Concealed,Afraid to speakAfraid to moveAfraid to uncurl my fingersAnd take up any more space than the one Between my skin and my bonesMy toes and my scalp So, I have emptied myself out Served it on a plateHidden away in the shell Which has become my home. I would like a new … Continue reading Hollow
Jellyfish Lake
Palau made Eddy Carvajal feel like a giant. Like the world was not a world at all, but this microcosm of land; just three-hundred-and-forty freckles on a cerulean marble. The archipelago itself held so much oceanic treasure that, for a marine biologist, it made a life-long career. This is why she was seriously considering moving here permanently. The trip that her research group was taking … Continue reading Jellyfish Lake
Mean Friends
Before I fall asleepAfter the lights are outAnd my head on the pillow – That’s when my brain awakens. It’s when the past and the present and the future Meet and mingle,Talk over each other,Spilling drinks on each other’s clothes And stepping on each other’s toes Trading secretsAnd gossipUntil I don’t know which story belongs To whom anymore. They allocate blame,And shame,All with one target … Continue reading Mean Friends
Edition 11
Bearer of Sorrow
By Yvette Chan Continue reading Bearer of Sorrow
Blue
Blue as the tranquil water of the lakes, or of the unseen breeze, or flying kites. Or of ink pens that stain our hands and smear all over the white of the table beneath our weight. Blue as the rising tide, the falling rain, the last crayon in the box that day. Blue as the uniforms we grew up in, and the highlights in … Continue reading Blue
