Outstretched arms
Swaying
Waving her in
Gnarly fingers
Rapacious
Rooting her in
Molten scales
Crawling up her limbs
Conquering her body
Among falling leaves
She remains.
Here today, gone tomorrow
Today
Motorway
To nowhere
But darkness,
Delicate arched foot
Glued
To the pedal
Landscape
Racing past
Today
Gone
Tomorrow
Almost here
A click of the fingers
A ring of smoke
A road
A tunnel
Delicate arched foot
Grey
Thumb tied up
Today
Gone
Tomorrow
Unborn
Unanswered
They dig right under where it is
Where it should be
Where you point
A molten finger,
Underneath
That stone angel.
This is where she is,
Was. Her eternal residence
Below moody skies
Avalanches
Of unanswered questions
Rage
Tears.
They dig, but she’s not there
Revolving blue lights
Revealing confusion,
Panic
Consternation.
She’s gone they say,
She’s gone you can see
A box empty
Of all that was left
Proof
Reality
Tragedy.
She’s gone and with it
The murmured claims
Of your insanity.
And
You will never know.
Short bio: B F Jones is French and lives in the UK. She writes flash fiction and poetry and her debut poetry collection The Only Sounds Left as well as her flash fiction collection Artifice are both published by The Alien Buddha.
A Fevers of the Mind Quick-9 Interview with B F JonesSPOTLIGHT: The Only Sounds Left by BF Jones from Alien Buddha Press
Q1: When did you start writing and first influences:
B F: When I was a teenager I wanted to be a playwright and theatre director and my dream was to direct Sartre’s No Exit as well as Waiting for Godot. I had a go at writing plays but didn’t follow through. Fiction-wise my first influences were a mix of French and English classics and contemporary gothic, horror and realism. Villon, Beaudelaire, Maupassant, Du Maurier, T.S Elliot, Poe, Ellis, Bukowski to name a few.
I wrote my first piece of flash fiction in 2013 and then wrote a bit on-off until 2017 when I did a short creative writing course. After that I started submitting more work out and writing more regularly. I didn’t get into poetry writing (apart from that one poem about a feather in 6th grade) until late 2020.
Q2: Who are your biggest influences today?
B F: I’d say most of those cited above are still valid along with some new classic and modern discoveries (Sarah Kane, Emily Dickinson, Manchette among others) and the work from writers and poets from the indie writing community that I have huge admiration for. I would struggle just picking one of them out of the lot though!
Q3: Where did you grow up and how did that influence your writing? Have any travels away from home influence your work?
B F: I grew up half in France and half abroad, I spent a few years in Russia as a kid and developed a taste for Russian literature as a result, in particular Bulgakov and Chekhov. Moving a lot as a kid turned me into an anxious adult and I’m definitely using quite a bit of that in my writing!
Q4: What do you consider the most meaningful work you’ve done creatively so far?
B F: I don’t think it’s any piece of work in particular, much more the ability to write and edit confidently and to no take rejections too personally.
Q5: Any pivotal moment when you knew you wanted to be a writer?
B F: I was always keen on writing, writing-related assignments at school were the only thing I got good grades at – but didn’t think I could do it until I discovered flash fiction.
Q6: Favorite activities to relax?
B F: Running/hiking, cooking, family time, reading, listening to music.
Q7: Any recent or forthcoming projects you’d like to promote?
B F: Yes 2 collections published by Alien Buddha, my debut poetry chapbook, The Only Sounds Left, that was released last month and a Flash Fiction collection, Artifice, out on 9 July.
Q8: What is a favorite line/stanza from a poem of yours or others?
B F: Oh that’s a tricky one. There’s a couple of things I like more than the rest but no specific line in particular…
Q9: Who has helped you most with writing?
B F: I’m very lucky to have a great group of writers that I talk to regularly and that are super supportive. To name a few: Stephen J. Golds, James Lilley, HLR, Scott Cumming, J. Travis Grundon, Max Thrax, John Bowie.
Fevers of the Mind 