the blood flows where it pleases

what now, friend from afar?

[havingapoemwithyou]

Third sonnet by Tawanda Mulalu

[firstfullmoon]

Gabrielle Calvocoressi, “No Poems Today,” in The New Economy

[poemsfromafar]

bad ending

[apocryphics]

[pickyocean]

things to do before the asteroid hits

1. Throw your smartwatch away. In the hours that follow, your sleep, time, or heart rate will quickly become inconsequential.

2.

3.

4. Tip the lovely cashier lady all of your life savings, then realise that even she doesn’t want it anymore.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9. Dance like no one’s watching.

10. But if you only have time left for one last thing, tell her you love her. Hold her close, hold her gently, hold her still. Kiss her, then beg for her forgiveness again.

[pickyocean]

good luck poem

before your exam

in the first semester of your

grad school a

hundred ladybugs

invaded your room at St Cross

you must have found the whole

situation pretty ridiculous,

really.

if i had been with you then

i would’ve whipped my phone

out and Googled “what is the

percentage chance of seeing a ladybug?”

and found the answer to be:

‘less than 1%’!

(i know, i know. percentages??? you can barely

count!!!)

but trust me.

that is a very small number.

[pickyocean]

I have been

known so thoroughly

that wanting

becomes unnecessary.

The nectar

that’s yours to keep

but you share it anyway.

The yoghurt already mixed

before I wake up.

The time you carve,

piece by piece,

out of your certainty.

I have been known

so thoroughly that

tomorrow when I wake,

all I want to do is

make breakfast

with you.

[pickyocean]

I have become so

used to holding your

hand that

I have forgotten that my

fingers were

built for harsher things.

For steel,

For soil,

For pain,

For staying

instead of fleeing.

Who were you?

What are we doing here?

I will wait for you,

tomorrow and perhaps

always.

[pickyocean]

Now, getting out of bed sounds

like you begging

for five more

minutes.

But really,

you’re asking me for

an eternity.

An eternity that you

know I will gladly

give.

Let me count them all,

just once, let me

be irrational.

Maybe if I count all of the pearls so

perfectly I won’t have the

time to leave.

One,

two,

three.

One,

two.

All of our love have been

but a yes or no question.

Will you read me something?

Will you stay by my side?

Will you forgive yourself for loving me?

Will you love yourself for me?

Will you wait?

Will you?

[pickyocean]

i guess what i was trying to say was

i will tend to my garden, even

if my favourite flower isn’t there.

and i will bite my tongue before

every euphemism,

cowardly or not

i now believe in reincarnation

I now believe in reincarnation.

[pickyocean]

when was the last time you were happy?

and the one before that one?

and the one before that?

no, not just ones with me in them

my darling, I don’t know

how else to say this

everything has been fiction.

in my splintered,

fractured, smokey tangy bitter sweet

state of mind,

I only see tulips.

[pickyocean]

come, come,

we must celebrate!

the asteroids are long

overdue, and

my fingertips have come undone

with your love.

green lights are now all i see,

sitting on the curbside,

running back home,

catching myself

laughing, despite it all,

in the shape of you.

[papayajuan2019]

thinking about experiencing my first sensation soon

[loveridden1999]

problematic sudoku solving skills gap

[featuringmarkhoppus]

[pickyocean]

Prose in which I am someone’s daughter

After Olive Franklin

At eight I learned about our monkey ancestors for the first time. It was a few months later that the vision came to me - my great great great great grandmother cradling her firstborn. How she must have felt like her world had just begun. How she must have appeased the rival gods and begged them for a better world. A world where someone carrying her blood could eat as many apples as she wants, climb the tallest trees without worry, and maybe even see the ocean for the first time. My great great great great grandmother was a fool. I wish I knew as little about desire as she did.

[firstfullmoon]

Robert Wood Lynn, “There is Only One Ocean”

[dontliveinthefuture]

Subraiana, Outlaws for Life, 2026, mohair and alpaca yarn embroidery