‘Angel on High’ and other poems by Aoife Read

Angel On High   An angel came to me today, small and full of memories a hodgepodge of worn paint, and yellowed glue chipped on her edges and thick with the scent of my youth. Imperfect, old, barely there. You promised her to me when I was as small as her. Imperfect, young, barely there. [...]

‘Fire relies on the leaves of gum trees’ and other poems by Dominique Hecq

Hushed   Light pours down the unrelenting sky to earth ribbed and ridged with the tough stroke of Drysdale’s brush I track down words for hues and shades in books envy the skill of artist-explorers who forged new ways of seeing The cries of crows fall Through blues onto rusty ochres pulsing with raven dust [...]

Poems by Valentina Colonna translated by Pawel Sakowski

  Ho raccolto un’ombra quando salivo le scale. Stava giusto scendendo.   Mentre toccavo le tegole ho perso un’idea. Rotolava avvolta tra i panni. Poi il vento ha smosso le fila: è scivolata travolta di vuoti.   Il carro stava giusto passando. – Flatus Fluit Ad Fortunae Fossam –   Ho appena cambiato l’acqua ai [...]

Making ‘Den of Sibyl Wren’ by Salma Ahmad Caller

  Notes on Salma Ahmad Caller’s process for the making of 'Den of Sibyl Wren'.    The Den of Sibyl Wren is my response to Chris Murray's A Hierarchy of Halls published by Smithereens Press It is my response to words Chris wrote about how she feels about this poem, and what she sees in her [...]

Patterns of Sensation – the bodies of dolls by Salma Caller

Silk Velvet Purse Doll Tiny invisible stitches hold rivets that hold rivulets Of silk ending in the darkness Where dreaming continues The sleeping and dreaming of her invisible body Silk Velvet Purse Doll A mille-feuille A body of a thousand layers A thousand gauze tissues A thousand substances Concealing a darkened chamber Entombing A heavy [...]