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 […]
What to Think About When Starting a Family
Image Credit If you are getting married or buying a home with a partner, you might be thinking of starting a family. Family life is a fulfilling way to spend your life, but it is also a life of responsibility. Make sure you have the right attitude for family life and you have the […]
Imposter – 100 words
Imposter I used to have a hat. It was beautiful with a dashing brim made of the softest emerald felt the colour of spring moss with a feather that swooped. I swished a cape around me it was green like midnight forests and the velvet stroked my back. It fastened at my throat with […]
Mindset – 100 words
Mindset I’m done with making peace: with seeing rainbows in the oily scum of dish water with the scented softness of tumble dryer fluff in the symmetry of a spreadsheet in the swooping freedom city canyon seagulls viewed from a fifth floor office Instead: I want the uneven paths and wind blasted […]