3 poems from “Push” by Sadie Maskery “Lost Child” “Rearrangement” & “Once we were”

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Lost Child

A stray ghost, I think as I lie in bed. 
She would definitely have fun here
in my sleepless head.
Noone really likes hide and seek -
there is the terror of not being found,
through spite or neglect; is that
how ghosts are made, hiding and noone
to find? but I contain oh so many 
forgotten wardrobes and worlds.
I see her with dusty knees and pockets, 
(I would make sure she always 
had pockets, to keep her treasures.)
We would sew tiny books
from scraps of paper and she 
would write secret messages 
to me, her imaginary friend, post them
in the nooks of trees in my mind,
that lonely dreamscape with the mist
and dragons and dusty furniture 
my hollow heart, hands, belly,
empty rooms to hide.

Rearrangement

Her energy is more disorderly 
Scattered through the space
Where she used to sew hems
Sip tea, wear socks to warm her feet
On the kitchen tiles.
She bounces from the shine
Of chrome taps and empty mirrors
Frantic as a bird 
Beating against captivity.
Death is. Death is just
A rearrangement. She is 
Still here, in fragments.
I try to catch a wisp of the laughter 
The smile of her, the kiss
Try to forget 
Entropy.


Once we were

where did the anger go
          to crush 
smash 
reduce to fucking 
                       atoms 
even those split 
by our ferocity 
the visceral 
pulse
        bodies 
        thrashing with
        ecstatic rage 
heads thrown 
                     back
                     not howling 
                     but from the bowels of us
                     sound dragged from the 
pit
they dug 
for us
       
we flew 
                          spinning
shocked 
to monstrous 
                     life
we sparked a war
and traded 
                 our integrity
               for
             a semi
           in
        Guildford



Bio: Sadie (@saccharinequeen)
Sadie Maskery lives in Scotland by the sea with her family.  Her writing will be found in various publications both online and in print, and she can be found on Twitter as @saccharinequeen where she describes herself, optimistically, as "functioning adequately ".