Beach body Sand dune hillocks undulate then redistribute as the storms pass Scratchy grasses poke unruly in the valleys, on the crests. Looked down on, from that cliff, golden sands luxuriate, languid, between frothy blue and the carpark. Closer it’s dog poo bin and vacant life preserver stand; pebbles and fag ends; spiteful pebbles […]
Prickly Hedge – 100 words
Prickly hedge Don’t touch Don’t get too close Don’t look at me so I feel dirty Don’t presume Don’t tell me who I am Don’t be late Don’t make my decisions Don’t stand me up Don’t tell me what to think Don’t use me for your jokes Don’t turn your back Don’t tell […]
Snail Trails – 100 words
Snail trails I do not see it slither yet it draws a dotted line on my doorstep, a pirate chart – X marks the spot. This galleon is not sailing. It goes, they say, by squeeze and stretch of a muscle so glistening and fringed, it’s rude to stare. But I do stare – this […]
A mother’s roll – 100 words
A mother’s roll Mum to be New mum Gina Ford mum Breastfeeding mum Mastitis mum Formula mum Working mum Sign language mum Baby-led weaning mum Playgroup rota mum Guilty mum Swimming lessons mum Neurodiversity assessment mum Fight their corner mum Single mum Shouty mum Sleepover mum Leave the office on the dot mum Scout […]
Funeral tea – 100 words
Funeral tea Over the sandwiches nobody wanted: A lovely service… So sad… More tea? Did you know…? Do you remember…? I wish… So do I… We shut our eyes and wished harder than we’d ever wished before and there you were shimmering over teacups. Made from dust and misery and pieces of our hearts, […]
Change – 100 words
Change Wood eventually dries, crumbles, splits and releases the nail. Sellotape, exhausted, curls up and falls off the paper. Silt shifts and rocks roll down the river, night gloom is slashed by dawn and flees. Rain dries. Midnight hungry babies will eventually be teenagers that won’t get out of bed. Skin will sag. People […]
Pendulum – 100 words
Pendulum Even when it’s quiet I can hear the tock of a non-existent clock that prods me from rest with a bony-fingered ‘get up, there’s work to be done’. It’s king clock, a regal tock beating future’s ruthless march: the sneering crump of boot on road – by the left, tick tock! A chronographic […]
Cracking… 100 words
Cracking… A smile in a shop: yes, me too A wave at the junction: on you go A sigh at the gym: great workout A card in the post: remember when A friend on the phone: how can I help? Grown up kids: hello mum, I love you A wagged applause: you’re home… at […]