On the day my Dad
Smashed in every window  
of Nan and Grandads house,
They told me the blood spots were
from the strawberry plants.

As Nan tiptoed by the pools of glass
Auntie Janet took me across the road.
We had orange club biscuits and milky tea, and Jasper the cat and Tots TV.
I pictured my Dad with his arm hanging off and sunk deeper into the armchair.

It was all smiles the next time he came,
The park with the maze and the video shop, and a banana milkshake and chomp bars before dinner.
He caught me staring at the purple scars and took my hand in his, swift as a vice.
There was a terrible accident at the factory.


Jade Wright

The scales are imbalanced,

As they have been for millennia,

Our time rushed to its end,

Like water off a sheer face,

Life drifted and swung like a pendulum,

An uncertainly guaranteed fate approaching,

At a capricious time and place,

Ticks were counted in reverse,

An attempt to fathom the unfathomable,

False prophets spoke as confidants to the future,

But no man can see to the end of the world,

Not the end, nor the limit,

But all will experience the unseen fall.

I orchestrate your violent butterflies
Fluttering and morphing into bees with big eyes
"Honey shed your chitin and be mine"
Your guardian angel and savior so divine

The strings of your heart as my violin
My grand concerto hypnotized you to sin
Made me your deity, my boat your place of worship
I welcomed your unholiness aboard my precious ship

Sailed through the clouds and into the stars
Set off on a light-speed expedition to Mars
When we returned to wander the Earth's seas
I found myself a slave to all your pleas

Mistress of this vessel yet so caged and lonely
When did I feed you so much power over me?
She was mine but I didn’t recognize
Tainted and defiled because of my lies

Her body and sails were painted red and blue
To much better suit and satisfy you
Irreverence to your deity, desecration to my shrine
I could only watch while you took all that was mine

A glimpse of land and gardens so close
Sparked a flame of hope in my life of shadows
I sprouted wings and the sun began beaming
Lighting up the rocks where waves were crashing

I raised her sails with one final goal
To free myself and take back my control
With cold confidence, I steadied my helm, directed my bow
Crashed her down like Dawson to Davy in the depths below.

It wasn't until today
When I realized that you can
Tell a story through only your eyes