The cat lives for perhaps fifteen years but don’t tell him
that / nothing is worse than a sell by date / we skip
towards the revolting tide / I wipe my mouth on your
lifestyle / do not wake in the middle of the climax / time
is alone and time is what / the sign at the station informs
me of closure I didn’t know I needed / we are arrows
pointed at the sun / blinded and curdling / fish are
walking and we are gliding through the soil / the tide
pushes / drives over our brains and lemons are only sour
in comparison

Nikki Dudley
Nikki is managing editor of streetcake magazine and also runs the streetcake writing prize and MumWrite. She has a chapbook and collection with KFS, with another forthcoming in 2021. She is the winner of the Virginia Prize 2020 and her second novel will be published in 2021. Her website is: nikkidudleywriter.com or you can find her on twitter: @nikkidudley20