buffoon
after Anne Carson
in no way, at all, was i supposed to – fuck you – enough months – and pints later – a conversation
about bishop – air thick like gelatine – we both knew – we could get away with it – like a theft
from a corner shop – a snack in the jacket – it felt organic – brought you back – no small talk –
knees on carpet – head in the curtain of your skirt – your boyfriend at home – I wasn’t sorry – he
knew – how important your career was – to you – you loved him – really – had sometimes shown a
photo – you talked about language like dough – weren’t afraid to look anyone in the eye – all my
life I withheld myself – but was unwilling to forfeit you – you in my mouth – soft cherry pit on
tongue – I pulled at the leash – struggled against myself – let the dog go running – I asked you to
leave – him – for me – you refused – when we fucked again – I felt like an ape – but continued
Godelieve de Bree is a Dutch-American writer currently based in London. Her work has been published by Tate, fourteen poems and the Los Angeles Review of Books. She was a 2023 T.S. Eliot Prize Young Critic and a member of the Roundhouse Collective 22/23.
untitled exhale
in a haze of comfort
a fog of friendship
i lay in the sun
let my eyes go soft
forget to call it
letting my guard down
Casey Garfield is a queer poet currently working on being the happiest they’ve ever been. They share work at instagram.com/thepoetnotthecat and caseygarfield.co.uk
To My Child
Before you were
even born,
you’d been assigned
a binary —
a little blue boy —
but you’re beyond
those categories.
I loved you
exactly
as you were,
I love you
exactly
as you are,
I will love
whoever
you will be.
Anna Maughan lives in Bristol and has been writing poetry since discovering the Liverpool Poets at school. She believes in the redemptive power of hope and the importance of open and honest discourse around the subject of mental health. Her writing is informed by her own struggles with C/PTSD as well as chronic pain and illness.