Hampstead 1979 He says he’s a Gemini too, always wears white linen to parties and is a recreational heroin user in an open relationship. He whispers lunch and writes his number on a £1 note and yes on a rainy Friday he buys me real champagne at Sheekey’s, feeds me oysters with his fingers pays with the dregs of his overdraft. All night he … Continue reading Two poems by Jacqueline Saphra
We are the Bees of the Invisible says Rilke, of poets (I think). I thought I could never be a bee: all that peer pressure, the hum and hustle of the hive. Who can relax when the next bee is doing her urgent dance? But the bees of the invisible live wild, solitary lives – in bee hotels in botanical gardens, in hollow reeds, … Continue reading Two poems by Anja Konig
Stone The best thing I did was move my body from one side of the world to the other. This required a visa which required a bribe. The bribe placed in the palm of a man with a gun, took my mother’s monthly wage packet. The man with a gun let you speak to a clerk. He too wanted a wage because it would … Continue reading Two poems by Nick Makoha
Desert Sunflowers While they waited for the weather to turn, Fermi offered wagers on the odds of igniting the atmosphere and destroying the earth or just New Mexico. Teller made them nervous, slapping on the sunscreen. Oppenheimer wore dark glasses like the rest and held onto a post with damp hands. He had ten dollars on them failing. In the control centre, Allison counted down … Continue reading Two poems by Rowyda Amin
Uncle Ted and I are window-shopping on the internet. I say there’s nothing you can’t buy remotely and suggest Costco, send him the link. I tell him that the padding’s good, point out it’s comforting and solid; for him, only the best. He sends me a link to Amazon: a pine affair, plain wood. It does look flimsy though, and only this morning … Continue reading ‘Internet Shopping’ by Jacqueline Saphra
