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Is a small beast with a body of Celtic knots. Ears twitching
soft as a doe's.
Lively-eyed, narrow-eyed. His nose is long and
wide, wide open.

My prayer to him is simple at first. I want what I want
and want it back.
But vain hours later I'm inventing prayers of smoke
and mirrors,

knotted into silver lace. They rise into the tarnished sky
sparking and weaving
all ears, all eyes, all long, long nose. Please be seeking, be
finding, be bringing

it back to my hand, oh beast, how my hands then will stroke
those ears, bless
those bright eyes, how I will delight that nose with delicious
tidbits, offerings

of thanks. How I will make a pet of you place you in my silken
cage lined with your new
velvet bed. How when you curl there I will say I want what I want
and I want it. You.




Neile Graham's life is full of writing and writers. She is a graduate of Clarion West Writers Workshop and currently serves as their workshop director. Her poetry collections are Seven Robins, Spells for Clear Vision, and Blood Memory, and a spoken word CD, She Says: Poems Selected and New.
Current Issue
22 Apr 2024

We’d been on holiday at the Shoon Sea only three days when the incident occurred. Dr. Gar had been staying there a few months for medical research and had urged me and my friend Shooshooey to visit.
...
Tu enfiles longuement la chemise des murs,/ tout comme d’autres le font avec la chemise de la mort.
The little monster was not born like a human child, yelling with cold and terror as he left his mother’s womb. He had come to life little by little, on the high, three-legged bench. When his eyes had opened, they met the eyes of the broad-shouldered sculptor, watching them tenderly.
Le petit monstre n’était pas né comme un enfant des hommes, criant de froid et de terreur au sortir du ventre maternel. Il avait pris vie peu à peu, sur la haute selle à trois pieds, et quand ses yeux s’étaient ouverts, ils avaient rencontré ceux du sculpteur aux larges épaules, qui le regardaient tendrement.
We're delighted to welcome Nat Paterson to the blog, to tell us more about his translation of Léopold Chauveau's story 'The Little Monster'/ 'Le Petit Monstre', which appears in our April 2024 issue.
For a long time now you’ve put on the shirt of the walls,/just as others might put on a shroud.
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Issue 26 Feb 2024
Issue 19 Feb 2024
Issue 12 Feb 2024
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