Anne Symons

      Building a fire My mother is kneeling by the hearth tearing strips from the West Briton rolling them round her fingers. I see the Penroses had their Silver Wedding. She lays the twisted paper criss-cross in the grate, newspaper ink smudges her...

Kathleen Strafford

      Childhatcheries   Even I keep secrets shhh     I’m in love with fingers caressing my insides feeling coils fiddling with my fan I live by touch by brink a contract between      love       grief & up to elbows nurses in soapy rubber gloves...

Sarah L Dixon

      To Frank, on going to High School Be bold and push open doors. Embrace the subjects that thrill you. Maths. Drama. Art. Endure those you hate and do them well. History. Literacy. Dance. Life is about balance. Find your tribe. The weird ones. The...

Louisa Campbell

      Life Skills Module 3 1.1.  Often misunderstood: Stem cell research Children Trigonometry Joy Choose two. Compare and contrast. 1.2.  In autumn, trees weep their leaves, ready to bud again in spring. Does this make you sad, or happy? 1.3.  Your...

Rebecca Gethin

      Dead-spit   My father kept what little he had of my mother in a drawer. It branded his next wife as second. She tipped the contents onto a fire she’d lit in the garden – photos with deckled edges, wedding pictures in card sleeves, snaps of my...