Raspberry and mango bougainvilleas, the tang of guava,
an orange and silver carp on a Balinese path, breathing
its last breath of hope, for someone to save it.
Pomegranate seeds popped into your mouth
dribble down your cheek to stain your new white pants;
your snow-teeth bite into watermelon, crumbling
from its watery pink into water itself.
My love for you is a crisp yellow pineapple, pale seaweed
dabbled in sunlight, the musky pink of my fingernails;
blue-grey dolphins, white baby seal love, the emerald sun
and the cool green sky; a tortoise underwater, an ache of forever,
a smiling purple dog; a yearning unresolved.
Lisa Reily is a former literacy consultant, dance director and teacher from Australia. She is now a budget traveller with two bags, one laptop and no particular home. You can find out more about Lisa at lisareily.wordpress.com.
Andrew Nowell studied English literature at University College London where he completed an MA in Shakespeare and the Renaissance. Now a journalist working for a local newspaper, he is also looking to break into creative writing and poetry. He lives in Wigan.
Steve Komarnyckyj’s literary translations and poems have appeared in Index on Censorship, Modern Poetry in Translation and many other journals. He is the holder of two PEN awards and a highly regarded English language poet whose work has been described as articulating “what it means to be human” (Sean Street). He runs Kalyna Language Press with his partner Susie and three domestic cats.
Foxglove Journal 