It was 5.20am and she had wondered if this would be the one good thing they could make last, as the world turned and the ground slipped quietly beneath them, and for once, she had been right; love had not bloomed but had sent roots deep into the earth to hold on tight. Poem: © Kristiana … Continue reading Something good
I was born with an eclipse in my eye. The doctor said it was a birth mark whilst my optician calls it a cataract. But for years my dad kept the name of my eclipse in his pocket as if he was almost proud of it. Proud the way my blue iris swirls like a … Continue reading Eclipse
I string aquamarine wishes with beads to make an invisible necklace which reminds me of the sea; the softness it whispers in its sleep on a wintry morning, pulling into the shore, or the tragic chorus within its summertime swells, the smell of salt, free of wounds to worsen and the crunch of sand bitten … Continue reading Aquamarine/blue
It’s the month of June and the summer heat mingles with the fire we’ve built. We are all sixteen or nearly so and we’ve stuck straws in Lambrini or we’re sipping on cheap beer. Someone pipes up about an easy way to get drunk- to drink every time you’ve done something you should be ashamed … Continue reading Never Have I Ever
The old me is no longer on the shelves because let’s be honest, she never existed. This is me now and this is me then; foolhardy and faerie, clumsy and pretty angry at the world and everyone in it, loved and unloved but always in love. I will bloom and I will wilt alongside the … Continue reading Discontinued
Originally published on Reedsy Discovery. Shoukry’s writing is candid and pleasant to read and follow. There is no attempt to complicate his thoughts and feelings or frame them in more academic language; he simply tells his story as it happened. I enjoyed how his account was interspersed with thought provoking chapters on Pain, Death and … Continue reading Review of It’s Not Just About Running: Reflections on Life and Change in Egypt, A.I. Shoukry
I was in my early teens when I locked myself in the bathroom whilst you hammered on the door, slipping the words Liar, Liar beneath it. It was then I learned it is easier to choke on silence than spit out words; easier to cry and rock on the tiles than apologise and believe you … Continue reading Choke
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Sometimes I have nightmares, a nightmare, the same one, over and over again: We are stood clinging to each other and the earth at the edge of a cliff before a gale blows down from heaven and knocks us both off our feet. And as we fall I watch your lips for movement and when … Continue reading Hold on tight
Leaving you taught me the beauty of three things: tucking yourself in at night cooking for one and dancing alone. Poem: © Kristiana Reed 2019 Between the Trees UK Between the Trees US Available internationally
