On the themes of Epitaph and Life Cycle
My Life As a Failed Freedom Fighter
I was one half of the Chinese Dragon;
I forget which end. Nineteen eighty awful-or-other,
walking boot-high by the peace march, falling in
beside my mother and all the other mothers.
We went with banners; chin-up and open mouthed.
I got tangled in the papier-mache head (or
perhaps I was lost in the beast’s cotton bowels)
and stubbed my toe. I remember it blood rimmed, sore,
laced with the throb of embarrassment. Tomorrow,
I won’t go to the demonstration. To me – pregnant, tired
and terrorised by justice, the police seem brighter now
and nobody cares who gets hurt on the hard road.
How To Love An Ugly Woman
So you got yourself a gorgon.
Walked it home via the back lanes.
Under the kitchen strip-lights, you sit
awkwardly. She glowers from behind
a curtain of knotted snake-hair. Folds her arms,
wraps herself in grubby, snaggled wings.
Gazes lock. Your own eyes pop
like deelyboppers, and sweat weeps freely
from your brow. She sighs. Scratches an armpit.
Now, she scans the table: the spilled handbag,
mirror compact, playing cards, crusty make-up.
Madonna on the cover of Hello.
Cocks her head. ‘You know, what this place needs,’
she says, her voice like metal scraping grit,
‘is a bonfire. Got a match? Good. So let’s begin.’
Author Biography
Nikki Magennis is an author and artist from Scotland. She has written extensively in the erotica genre, including novels and short stories, and founded the online zine for literary erotica, FeatherLit. In the past few years she has started writing more poetry. Find out more at nikkimagennis.com