By Jem Henderson

flashes red (WHITE)
        in gloomy green and grey,

flowers of bog asphodel, 
a spatter of yellow (WHITE) stars

her home
claggy and dank, 
peat smoke from the summer burn still bitters the air

nocturnal symphony, 
the rumble of traffic on the M62

RED / WHITE 

smears against the purple moorland,

red / white

red / white

RED / WHITE

send her scurrying 

back to her burrow and babies


feral cats slink, queens of their domain

she hides, rain-soaked and fretting 

red /
mud clinging to the WHITE of her chest
ASCII shrug symbol

Jem Henderson is a nonbinary queer poet living in Leeds, UK. They have an MA in Creative Writing from York St. John University. They have been published in Civic Leicester’s Black Lives Matter anthology, Streetcake, Full House, and Dreich. They can be found on Twitter and Instagram @jem_face. They’re working on their first collection.


Why we chose this piece: We really enjoy the layout and experimental form of this poem. The rhythm, repetition, and vivid imagery build a frantic energy that forces you to absorb every moment.

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