Anemone

Featured in

  • Published 20231107
  • ISBN: 978-1-922212-89-4
  • Extent: 208pp
  • Paperback, ePub, PDF, Kindle compatible

Lady, in this heavy light 

you show tender: waving your insides 

outside, buffeted by the sea’s 

old heave ho. Nobody calls out medusa

but there’s a distinct resemblance 

about the tentacles. The currents drag 

in silver mercies. Your face flares 

and ripples. Look, it was 

never meant to be easy: day after day 

fronting the ocean. We’ve all been 

fettered and must learn: this grasping. 

That letting go. 

Share article

More from author

Moon man

Poetry After Elizabeth Venn He circles the room five times, refusing to believe he’s resistible. I tell myself I won’t tilt  for his stained skin, his predictable footwork.  I’m...

More from this edition

The rabbit real

Non-fictionI know you want to ask me if I had a difficult childhood, if I suffered physically or mentally in any way that might swerve from the ‘normal’ pattern of development. But I have nothing to report: no tales of abuse to exploit through memoir; no scars to split open for internal poking. I had friends when I wanted them but was also happy when alone with the rabbit.

Fly on the wall

In ConversationAnimals are extremely important and extremely neglected in our public discourse. We’re not even paying enough attention to human rights and human justice issues, and we’re paying next to no attention to non-human rights and non-human justice issues. That doesn’t mean that we don’t care – people do care about animals, and they want animals to have good lives – but we’re either unaware of or unwilling to acknowledge all the pain and suffering that animals experience as a result of human activity.

Help wanted

Poetry The opening said no training required; the slaughterer’s tasks are two: stun and slaughter.  With a third parenthetical:  Remove the organs  and the waste  as needed. Heifers all  have name tags here:...

Stay up to date with the latest, news, articles and special offers from Griffith Review.