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Washed Up by Helen Smith

Editor's Note: Congratulations to Helen Smith for winning this month's competition!


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let’s go star fishing on kirkcaldy beach

i’ve heard there’s been a supernova

explosion of tiny bodies, red dwarf   white dwarf   nebula

let’s map this constellation together

this north sea wave swell dredge         stranded

the way i was, on this same shore

tiny sucker feet seeking purchase on body

after body after body (on unknown sand, unknown rock)

let us go there as the sun sets and

the seagulls have left, glutted on such vastness

their minds cannot conceive

come, drive down the coast with me and

learn the universe the tide brought to our feet

such death, such life, revealed


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Helen is an autistic poet, librarian and part-time hermit from the Welsh Marches, currently residing on the north-east coast of Scotland. With a background in zoology and psychology, her work is inspired by mythology and folklore, the relationship between people and nature, and the landscape of the human body. Her poetry can be found in a variety of print and online journals, and she is co-editor of the poetry broadside barbara.pub. When not hiding out in the hidden corners of libraries, she can often be found reading fantasy novels, crocheting small creatures, or getting delightfully lost in the woods.

helensmithwrites.com