Mark Ryan Smith

      Fun in the Sun   He found himself watching the sun on the wall. The sun on the wall.  He remembered people saying that when he was young, meaning that whatever movement that happened to be taking place at that time was moving so terribly...

Helen Freeman

      Angus anhinga in my hang-glider, my ambit, my angler, the lips’ full opposite. Hungus – two gulps. Sirloin tang for my hunger, stirling catch, my one choice. A stone thrown into a silent land, the arsenal of your arrival. The headlong clang...

Elizabeth McGeown

      Outpatient   Take a half-shower Sit at the edge of the bath, feet wet Shower head unscrewed, hose lying flaccid in the bath Belching out lukewarm water over overgrown toenails   Walk around the house bumping into things Giggle like a...

Phil Wood

      Island Fiction I could murder a cuppa mutters a knitting voice, her claws purling patterns the Fair Isle way. The kettle whistles, the brew as warming as a jumper – outside gulls rock n’ roll drunk on a burgundy sky. The winged ways...

Gillie Robic

      The Opposite of Pygmalion She’s breaching the limits climbing the scaffolding hauling herself up poles rolling over the lip of the kick-board. My hands race like a card sharp trying to confuse the eye not wanting to let her off the plinth. I don’t...