Another Withered Leaf A thin fragrance of pumpkin and potato peels had lingered there for as long as she could remember, a product of almost a century of cooking and baking...

      Eloquence Your eyeballs are marbles in my mouth, large, saliva-sweating, gag-making gobstoppers, two for a penny, keeping me silent. They clank together, underwater internal,...

      Not Raglan Road   The spit, piss and vomit of Bridge Street; Market Street’s chewing-gum tattoos and flaking dog-end scabs, have all too often kissed the soles of her suede...

    Gestation Period These days have become a knife to pare away my skin. Each morning the same routine: the child with her red hair and green eyes watches, swinging legs as I take my...

    His Heart He offered her his heart as sashimi perfect slices cut with a samurai sword, served with daikon and wasabi. He diced it into a tartare, seasoned with finely minced shallot...

      Mother Tongue   I bestow new words upon you slippery syllables like silken drops of milk between your lips. your eyes widen in recognition. word by word, your kingdom...

      The Grafters I've followed you for two hours. Across windswept beaches and deserted construction sites. Through dark alleyways and smoky late-night cabaret bars. Over highways...

      The Rabbit Must Be Saved The man in the shallow trench leans on one elbow. The white rabbit shines, a helpless little moon in barren midnight. The man wants the rabbit dead; the...

    The Distaff Side Looms dragging red kisses on the inside of the knees we clutched to our chests by night. As Penelope and her girls unpicked theirs we dreamt of ours, under the...

      Anger   Something unpardonable brightens my veins, filters into my arteries like a small burrowing creature, a splattery anger, murderously hot.   I scream, curse the...