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6 April 2013

Lament by Les Bush

My lighter will not work, you might not care; My lighter will not work, Oh, the despair.   My cigarette is unlit, I do not mean to scare; My cigarette is unlit, how do I end this nightmare?   What's ...
5 April 2013

The Fast Moving Consumer Goods Man by Les Bush

FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) is the name, filling shelves is my game. Supermarket shelves is what I fill. Large or small, shallow or deep, or the AOV; why? I am the "Fast Moving ...
4 April 2013

Note to Self by Les Bush

I am tired, of being strong and reliable; caught between, “She’ll be right, mate” and, “pass the No. 8 wire”. I wonder, what would it be like, to let go; become an emotional mess of ...
3 April 2013

Contradictions by Les Bush

I love contradictions; I live contradictions, here’s one: this might be our last meeting: but it is not!   We might never assemble right here - seated around this table - but we will meet again: in the street, ...
2 April 2013

Those Eyes by Les Bush

Those eyes, so deep; an ocean of despair: too sad to weep, with a hint of fear.   So, little sister, I feel your pain: "where do I go, how shall I live?". Me? I have nothing ...
2 April 2013

A Short Story In Two Parts By Danny Kemp author of The Desolate Garden.

A Short Story In Two Parts. By Danny Kemp author of The Desolate Garden. (Using a character from that novel) Part One.               Allow me to introduce myself then, like many before ...
28 March 2013

The Day I Die by Les Bush

THE DAY I DIE (Variations on a Theme in 5 parts)   ** 1 **   THE DAY I DIE will, like the day I was born, be like any other: on the edge of an ...
27 March 2013

The Demons Within by Les Bush

1.   The gate had not been breached. A shot had not been fired. Still they got in, The defences had retired.   They were welcomed in: Carried and pulled, Trojan Horse. The plan had worked. Events would take their ...
26 March 2013

Summer in Auckland by Les Bush

Autumn, having been knocking impatiently, has breached the gates, but Summer's burning, unrelenting embrace will not relent. The days are still hot and long, even as the hours of daylight decrease. The sun's ...
25 March 2013

A Chance Meeting by Danny Kemp

I posted this three-line romantic poem on the internet last week. To rise from a barren earth. To soar above, to wing away. To escape from all that’s lacking, and live to love ...
25 March 2013

Waterfall by Les Bush

It starts, as always, at the top, it’s a flow, a flood, a torrent, trickle or drop; coursing hard and metallic through your blood.   Drops of water, liquid and elusive; hard as rock, soft as ...
24 March 2013

The Will Would Ask by Les Bush

“Why do I proclaim such an imperative on hope: and the reasonable expectation of the inevitability of the return of hope?” “THIS is my reply! To not do so would be to cravenly ...
21 March 2013

Affairs-1 Marriage- 1 by Aoife Brennan

Shirley took off her makeup. She applied night cream. She brushed her teeth. The night-time rituals were familiar and boring. She yawned and wanted to stop her ablutions half way ...

20 March 2013

She by Les Bush

Is so quiet, withdrawn,sharp in retort;closes here yes, for fearof what she might see,“I’m OK”, she says;but it is not so.Her eyes gives away, closedshe cannot see ME!I wish someone ...
18 March 2013

Discourse on the Dynamics of Dialogue by Les Bush

Avert your eyes please, I am naked.Didn't know what to wear,which body stance to assume,when I came here.Thank you, you may look now.Casually dressed, in a noncholant sort of way,an ...
18 March 2013

Police Dogs Are Twits by Danny Kemp

Don’t get me wrong, I love dogs, cats at a stretch, but dogs of most descriptions then most certainly. I draw the line at greyhounds. One took a lump out ...
12 March 2013

The Confession by Danny Kemp

“This is your confession, your last chance to confess, of lives you have entered and with those that you’ve messed. I can give you redemption, I can make everything good. You ...
6 March 2013

The Watching by Jess McLean

Julia stares out from their balcony, scanning the wide ocean view for the telltale spurts of water or splash of fin.  Her eyes slide to the lighter blue sea closer ...

5 March 2013

Flash Fiction by Debbie Walsh

Disclaimer: contains swearing. They walked slowly across the foyer glancing through the downdraft of funnelled heat.  “Need a drink” announced Harry “A pint?” hoped Sam “No, a coffee or something…” “Hmm…hey okay – over here.” Harry ...

4 March 2013

Diary, Memory and Babbling by Jim Barrass

 Diary   I’ve a beautiful diary So full of dates A full 365 days and nights, But I think sometimes sadly, Especially of late It’s a shame they’re all filled In hindsight.         Memory   You never waved                      goodbye,   You simply Shimmered.   Babbling   Babbling   Language is a   babbling ...
3 March 2013

In Time by Jim Barrass

This house clock was found in hock I wouldn’t tick, it wouldn’t tock The spare parts were all out of stock And little left to do.   Some beast, it seems, had gotten in, Created some ...
2 March 2013

Prologue by Jim Barrass

The corridor caught in the convex glass, familiar, like some memory still to come, curved round to converge upon some unreflected, unreached point. Beyond, he vaguely perceived the second hand sweep in silence, rippling the reflection in his eyes. Deep down, some half-forgotten memory stirred, the ...
1 March 2013

Not the time to break down by Radhika Raheja

I sat quiet for some time, staring at the blank wall. No answers came. “This must be for good”, I thought. Then there was a knock on the door. “Varun’s ...

28 February 2013

The Power of Love by Rose Mary Boehm

Harry smiled at his mum while she tucked him up. He had no intention of sleeping. After all, it wasn’t even really dark yet. He knew what to do.                  “Mum, ...