Trigger warning – pregnancy loss One in four You never forget the first drop of blood, a sickening stillness – the knowing the not knowing You never forget what happened next, recalibrating a future – the telling the not telling You never forget the inadequacy of ‘I’m sorry’, the hurt of turned away […]
June 2008 – 20 weeks – 100 words
Trigger warning: pregnancy loss June 2008 – 20 weeks There was sunshine on the day you left spring summersaulting to summer and optimism, but you’d gone and I didn’t know I carried imaginings future selves, with ice cream, on beaches… my motherhood – calmer, stronger, wiser, Not a woman who didn’t know […]
One day in May – 100 words
One day in May The path you walk is impossible, no longer a path, really blocked by unfurling ferns and a jungle of nettles. Brave bluebells bounce but you can’t get near enough for that Instagrammable blue blur – the brambles are a thicket and salady fresh new nettles sprawl upwards. All the weeks […]
Danger – 100 words
Danger You will never be safe – from a tiger’s blood-hungry prowl, from the rage of machinery spitting sparks and tearing in anger at open throttles, from the poor aim of fate, lashing carelessly in a crowd. You can stay at home, behind a five-lever mortice lock and five-star rated anti-viral software, keeping your […]
Dipper – 100 words
Dipper Lake glitters today family SUVs disgorge, sunglasses hunted factor 40 but you know snow-melt currents surge beneath the ducks and under stand-up paddleboarders. Meet shingle, rock, slime. Ankles, shins, thighs astonished by biting surface outraged as you wade on, furious with rock, slime, weeds. Breathe. Kick. Pull. Acknowledge the persistence of life send bubbles […]