The Song of the Twinless Twin by Jude Cowan Montague

A prophecy

I had a little twin
He was my mortal foe.
I killed him in the womb
so I was born alone.

The Memory by Rachel Burns

Across the river a horse whinnies, reminding her
of the brutish hero in Jane Eyre, of that holiday
on the moors as a girl, walking around the parsonage
the scrawled handwriting behind sealed glass.

What in God’s Name? by Ceinwen E Cariad Haydon

Lottie laughed at his joke and he was startled. He had thought often about this strange girl and how he might get her attention. His moment of surprised pleasure was short lived as he watched her laughter turn hysterical and then to tears of pure grief.

Who Lied About the Mermaid’s Ghost? by Chris Hemingway

The slack-jawed captain,
who thought he could quell
an ancient mutiny
by a simple crew majority.

Girl Who Spiralled by Amanda Oosthuizen

She woke up one morning and found the coccolith nestled in the palm of her left hand like a secret. When she tried to pick it off, it settled, winking mischievously.

Waiting for You to Come Back by Zoë Sîobhan Howarth-Lowe

I am sat cross-legged.

I have turned out all the lights and am sitting quietly,
just as you like me –

taste the darkness by Linda M. Crate

you slit my throat,
drank my blood
from my own goblet

Lonesome October Lit: Halloween 2018

Welcome to our Halloween 2018 special at Lonesome October Lit.

What Orpheus Did Not Know by Sanda Moore Coleman

What Orpheus did not know, of course,
was that she had flirted with death,
that the love-bite of the needle had already
pierced her skin

The Owls Gather to Watch by Rachel Burns

Pegged sheets flap
under a yellow moon

Tall Grass by Amanda Crum

As the town bakes we
take turns riding on the handlebars, weak breeze
ruffling hair like a fatherly hand.

Cold Case by Betsy Housten

for S. (1952-1977)

“And I… will write my story for my better self.”
– Elizabeth Barrett Browning

My girl – my better self – I’m so sorry. You deserved
a different ending, one befitting the performer we were,
smitten with allegro and adagio and each speed in between.